


The EMT

by Onmyliteraturebullshitagain



Series: And They Were Neighbors (oh my god they were neighbors) [12]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Badass Zuko (Avatar), Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Bisexual Zuko (Avatar), Developing Relationship, EMT Zuko, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Medical Care, Midwest Bi Disaster Zukka, POV Zuko (Avatar), Poor Sokka gets beat up here, Warning for implied racism, Warning for mild homophobia, injured sokka, love and support, zukka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:55:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28817424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onmyliteraturebullshitagain/pseuds/Onmyliteraturebullshitagain
Summary: When a fun night out with Teo takes a turn for the worst, it's up to EMT Zuko to take care of an injured Sokka.Midwest Bi Disaster Zukka - established relationship but can probably be read as a stand-alone (if I offered enough necessary context clues).
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: And They Were Neighbors (oh my god they were neighbors) [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1968508
Comments: 896
Kudos: 732





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A HUGE shoutout to some awesome people who helped with this story:
> 
> mist_of_avalon for giving me the prompt for this story and helping me to workshop some elements
> 
> Io_Palladium for checking the EMT and medical details here for accuracy and being patient enough to deal with this English teacher trying to make sense of the medical system (this has evolved quite a bit since you read it, so hopefully I didn't fuck anything else up too much as I revised, but feel free to tell me if I did!)

Sokka only worked a few days a week in the actual office, preferring the noise and chaos and impulsivity granted by his home office, but he did like his coworkers for the most part. Especially Teo, who was young and outgoing and incredibly earnest all the time. He'd apparently globbed on to Sokka because Sokka was loud and made friends with everyone and was the only other openly queer guy in the office. Sokka wasn't sure if the whole "openly queer" thing came from the bi pride pin on his jacket, or the photo of him and Zuko pinned up on the wall of his cubicle, or the fact that he took every opportunity possibly to make jokes like "not refilling the coffee pot is homophobic, Sharon" or "let me be straight with you, Riannon--well, as straight as  _ I  _ can be." Regardless, Teo had become Sokka's office pal. Sokka had warned him, though, that if Teo was looking for some sort of gay mentor, Sokka probably wasn't the right choice considering he was "only half gay and a whole disaster." And Teo had laughed and done a quick wheelie on his wheelchair like the little baby rebel he was, and Sokka decided immediately that they were definitely bros.

So when Teo very nervously approached him and asked if he’d be willing to go with him to a drag show that weekend, Sokka had enthusiastically said 'yes'. 

“It’s just… one of my friends is performing, but I don’t have a lot of other friends who'd maybe wanna go and I haven’t really, you know, been to a gay bar before, and you seem--” Teo had hurried on before realizing Sokka was watching him with a smile. “Oh, you already agreed, didn’t you?”

“Yep!” Sokka announced. “Let’s do it! But we’re just watching and yelling and tipping, right?” he added quickly. “You’re not expecting me to perform or something, are you?”

Teo laughed and shook his head. “No, we’d just be yelling and tipping. At least, I assume?” He looked briefly panicked. “Do you think we actually have to perform?”

Sokka laughed too. “Nah, I doubt it. We’ll just bring lots of dollar bills and I’ll be as obnoxious as possible. Cool with you?”

Teo had smiled wider. “That… yeah. That sounds fun. Thank you.”

“Of course, buddy!” Sokka replied. “No one should have their first gay bar experience all alone. Oh, should I bring my boyfriend too? He’s obviously not  _ nearly _ as fun as me, but he'd also be cool and supportive."

And Teo had agreed with that too, looking excited and nervous and just like the most adorable little baby gay Sokka had ever gotten to interact with (he realized Teo was, like, twenty-two and not a baby, but  _ still).  _ So the plan was set and all Sokka had to do was lean back in his office chair (a dangerous level that had ended in disaster before but hadn't stopped him from doing it) and text Zuko.

Sokka:  _ drag show this saturday for teo's first gay bar experience?? you remember teo right? younger guy longish hair dad's the crazy engineer who tricks out his wheelchair? _

Zuko:  _ Of course I remember Teo. And it sounds fun but I gotta work that night until 1am _

Sokka:  _ booooooooooo  _ 😥  _ why do you have to be responsible? do people REALLY need you saving their lives on saturday? can't they wait?? _

Zuko: _Oh totally. Im sure people can just restart their own hearts and get to the hospital or wait until my next shift before going into anaphylaxis._ _No biggie_

Sokka chuckled and spun a little in his chair, making the wheels squeak.

Sokka:  _ oh i guess. you still cool if I go? _

Zuko:  _ Yeah of course! Have fun with Teo.  _

Sokka: _ can we meet after at least? i might need mouth to mouth… _ 😘

Zuko: 🙄 _ if anyone other than you was making this joke to me again, Id kill them in cold blood _

Sokka:  _ well it's a good thing you love me so much huh?  _ 😍

Zuko:  _ Really youre just lucky youre so good in bed so Ive got a reason to keep you around _

Sokka laughed loudly enough he actually covered his mouth to stop, because the last thing he needed was Grant in the cubicle next to him making passive aggressive comments about his noise levels. He typed back a response.

Sokka:  _ speaking of being good in bed… meet up after? _

Zuko:  _ Sure although *good in bed after this shift might mean *Sokka rubs Zukos achy neck and tells him hes pretty until they both fall asleep _

Sokka:  _ compromise with neck rubs + making out + Zuko is shirtless + falling asleep together?  _ 🤔🤝🤗

Zuko:  _ As long as youre not covered in glitter or something its a date. If you're glittery dont you dare come within twenty feet of me _

Sokka:  _ just for that i'm gonna buy glitter and fill you pillowcase with it _

Zuko:  _ Then say goodbye to any mouth to mouth you think might happen in the future because I will end you _

Sokka laughed again.

“God, I love that snarky bastard,” he muttered to himself, looking up at the picture pinned above his desk of the two of them.

It was just a selfie from downtown near the Jasmine Dragon that he'd printed out on regular paper, so the color wasn't quite right. But everything else was, their heads tipped together and both looking at the camera, Zuko’s arm looped around Sokka’s shoulders while Sokka held up the phone. They were both smiling, although Sokka’s was wide and completely unapologetic and Zuko’s was more of a smirk. Basically, it was perfectly them, and it made him think of that afternoon when they admitted they loved each other, all that awkwardness and affection in the chill of November, and that was why it was the one he wanted in his cubicle next to a family snapshot and one from the last time he'd hung out with his friends back home. Sokka smiled to himself and finally let his chair drop completely back to the floor in preparation for actually working again.

Sokka picked Teo up on Saturday night, making sure his car had room for Teo’s customized, lightweight chair he took when they went out, and followed Teo’s directions to the Garden Nightclub. While Sokka had just gone with his normal sort of look - a fitted tank top under his normal denim jacket with his bi pride pin and some dark wash jeans - Teo had put a floral-patterned green blazer over his grey t-shirt and skinny jeans, painted his nails a matching dark green, pulled his loose hair back in a bun, and done a smear of smokey eyeliner around his dark eyes.

“Well damn,” Sokka said as he helped him into his passenger seat, “I should have tried harder apparently!”

Teo just blushed. “It doesn’t look bad, does it?”

“No, you look great!” Sokka said. “We may just need some sort of hand signal if you’ve found yourself some hot dude and want me to piss off.”

Teo laughed and blushed a little but didn’t argue with him, which Sokka locked in the back of his mind in case his little gayby was actually looking to hook up tonight. He’d have to keep an eye on him just in case.

They got to the club a bit early to beat the larger crowds and be sure they could find space within to watch the drag show. Sokka got Teo's chair set up next to the spot they’d found on the street around the corner from the bar, which was a little further away from the front door than Sokka had wanted, but Teo didn’t complain as he climbed into his chair. He still looked nervous, so Sokka clapped him on the shoulder, wheeled him backwards, and shut the passenger door.

“It’s gonna be great!” Sokka said, maneuvering the chair up onto the sidewalk. 

Teo messed with his hair a little and pulled at his sleeves, and Sokka chuckled and continued toward the front door. At least it was March and just muddy and sort of grey and barren out, rather than snowy and freezing like it could have been. There also weren’t many people on the dark street yet, a few people walking on the sidewalk, a few drag queens getting out of their cars, some people loitering on benches, but at least they avoided the possible crowds of crazy drunk people. They rounded the corner and headed toward a straight bar two businesses down from the Garden with some guys smoking outside. Sokka watched the guys from the corner of his eyes, noting the way they frowned and muttered as a drag queen walked quickly past them toward the other bar, and he picked up his pace. The guys were still talking and laughing as Sokka and Teo passed, and Sokka felt their eyes. Of course these were the types of guys to lurk outside 'policing' the streets and the bars and making everyone around them uncomfortable. There were a few semi-audible comments with words Sokka had become all too familiar with from when he was teen and, from the way he sunk down slightly in his chair, Teo recognized as well. Sokka shot a few guys a sharp glare but didn't say anything, unwilling to start something when it was just him and Teo and at least six all-American looking assholes. But at a comment about a slur "on wheels" said in a slightly too-loud voice that made Teo flinch, Sokka actually made eye contact with the speaker. He was a squarish, footballer-player type with the unflinching confidence only a mediocre, straight, white man could have. 

"You that insecure in your masculinity?" Sokka asked with a raised eyebrow and faux sympathetic smile. "Girlfriend have to fake it a little too often and it's starting to hurt your feelings? That why you need to be a bitch to some strangers on the street?"

The Mediocre White Man's face turned a bit red, and a few of the guys lost some of the teasing in their faces and glared, and Sokka glared back as he and Teo kept going past. It was one thing if someone said something shitty about _him_ , but about Teo? Fuck that. So Sokka didn't back down. There was another comment from somewhere in the crowd that Sokka was pretty sure had more to do with his skin color than his sexuality, so he added a quick, "Fuck off and die, you pathetic pricks" as he walked. 

There were definitely louder, more openly aggressive comments then, but they were past them and almost to the Garden. Still Sokka kept his back straight and his awareness behind him until they actually got to the main door, which was lit up with a neon rainbow flag and pink lights around the edges. 

"You ok?" he leaned down and asked Teo.

"Yeah just…" Teo replied, taking hold of his wheels again as Sokka got the door, "wasn't expecting that, I guess."

"Most people aren't like that," Sokka said. "Don't let some drunk dickbags ruin your night."

They paid their cover charge to a girl in a leopard-print corset who was standing behind the front desk and looking past them through the doors.

"Is it guys from the Tap Room again?" she asked as she counted back their change. "I swear those assholes are just getting worse."

Teo instantly looked nervous and a little pale, and the girl must have noticed because she immediately smiled and added, "Don't worry, sweetie! They're just a lotta talk, but even  _ they _ wouldn't risk the wrath of a queen in six-inch stilettos!"

Teo managed a smile.

"Show starts at ten, so you boys have time to get some drinks first! Have fun!" she added, and Sokka gave her a grateful nod and followed Teo down a hallway toward the venue space.

It was sparse enough still that they could find a table a few back from the front and move extra chairs aside so Teo would fit beside it and wouldn't get trapped, and then Sokka ordered their first drinks from the bar. While he waited on the bartender he sent Zuko a quick text:

Sokka:  _ thanks for not being a shitty straight white man _

He paid for the drinks and felt a responding buzz in his pocket.

Zuko:  _ Youre welcome? Is this code for something I dont understand? Lotta things wrong with that statement overall _

Sokka:  _ just glad i'm not dating an asshole _

Zuko:  _ Im kind of an asshole _

Sokka:  _ but in a good way  _ 😁

Sokka:  _ that wasn't meant to sound sexual _

Sokka:  _ but i mean also in a sexual way _

Zuko:  _ It seems pretty early for drunk texting... _

Sokka:  _ this is all sober sokka all the time baby!  _ 😏

Zuko:  _ Oh my god why am I dating you? _

Sokka:  _ how bout i remind you later tonight hot stuff?  _ 😘🍆😎

The bartender set Sokka's drinks on the counter, so he tucked his phone back in his pocket and carried back to the table. In the time he'd been gone, Teo had been joined by a leggy queen with tattoos and dark, heavy makeup.

"Oh, Sokka!" Teo said as he came over, grinning and blushing a little. "This is my friend June."

Sokka set the drinks down and introduced himself, and June greeted him with all the elegant aloofness of a queen, but then both Teo and June focused their full attention back on each other, much to Sokka's amusement. Teo hadn't lost the blush on his face, and June was leaning on an elbow and constantly shooting flirtatious looks Teo's way as she talked. Basically, Sokka drank and observed the adorable little oblivious courtship the two were playing at as they stole glances and little touches and teases. When June finally had to get up to head backstage, she waved at Teo quickly again before she disappeared, once more taking on a swaggering, bad-girl sort of persona that matches the makeup and the vibe.

Teo was still blushing. 

"So, just a friend, huh?" Sokka said, pushing Teo's ignored drink toward him.

"What? Oh no, he's--I mean, she's--well, I know him better when he's not being June, but I mean--" Teo stammered, and Sokka laughed.

"God, I finally get how Katara must have felt," he muttered to himself.

Teo's eyebrow furrowed in confusion. 

"My sister," Sokka explained over the rising music. "She totally called that Zuko and I were into each other while we were being dumb and oblivious, so let me be your voice of reason." He pointed back toward the stage. "That person  _ likes  _ you, and you clearly like her--or him, whatever version--so please be smarter than me and talk about it sooner rather than later."

Teo turned pink again and looked about to respond when the MC of the show, an Aunt Wu with big hair and an assertive personality and bright colored kimono, started the show. Sokka patted Teo on the arm and let the conversation go for the moment, but if he needed to be Teo's "don't be a dumbass and  _ communicate"  _ spirit guide, then he would be.

He was also rewarded just then with a text from Zuko:

Zuko:  _ Youre so lucky youre hot and that Im moronsexual bc otherwise this wouldve crashed and burned from the very beginning _

Zuko: ♥️

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're enjoying this newest installment of Midwest Zukka! There is some description of violence in this story, although I tried to balance realism with not being overly graphic, but I still wanted to give a head's up (violence happens in Ch. 2 and is described in Ch. 3). Later chapters also give us our first taste of Zuko POV, so hopefully you like that new addition to the series!
> 
> Anyway, as always, feel free to chat with me anytime! Comments, kudos, hits, etc. are all greatly appreciated :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka finds himself in a bad situation that manages to make itself worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw for referenced racism, ableism, and homophobia, as well as fighting and some physical violence (I tried not to get terribly graphic with this, but Sokka does... sort of get his ass kicked at the end of this chapter. Sorry!)

Zuko was gonna kill him for the glitter. But no amount of scratchy bathroom paper towels was getting it off Sokka's shirt and left arm, and so he'd literally have to go home, change, and then probably burn his clothes and scrub himself with steel wool before he was Sokka-colored again. He definitely blamed the queen with the glitter canon--Ko the Face Stealer of all slightly terrifying personas--for that one, but at least Teo seemed to be having a good night. They'd drank and cheered and tipped, and sweet little Teo and full-volume obnoxious Sokka had been a popular table for flirtation and comments from the MC and the other queens. Of course, Sokka could have done without the fortune teller bit that said his future would be "full of struggle and anguish, most of it self-inflicted." But at least people had laughed when he'd responded, "You sound like my boyfriend! At least buy me dinner first!" Aunt Wu was undeterred by his sass, but Sokka supposed that was to be expected. 

June had been great and clearly made a point to stop over mid lip-sync to gyrate around Teo and give him a wink as she passed. Teo stared at her with red at the tops of his cheeks and a ridiculous, flustered grin on his face, and the audience hollered in support. It all just affirmed what Sokka already knew to be true about these two oblivious dummies. 

The crowd was rowdy and fun, the music was loud and upbeat, and the drinks were overpriced and worth it. Specifically because Sokka was mostly buying them and passing them off to Teo until the younger guy was starting to match Sokka in volume.

All-in-all, Sokka felt he could pat himself on the back for making Teo's first gay bar experience a safe and fun one. And when he'd gone to the bathroom to attempt to get the glitter off post-show, he'd left Teo with June. Performance now done, "June" had morphed back into a willowy, dark haired guy around Teo's age named Ezra who had shed his persona they could more easily spend the rest of the night together. He definitely still had June's sultry sort of voice and some of her swagger and the same tattoos, but Teo seemed a little less intimidated at his "friend" being around with more subtle makeup and a more relaxed disposition. Ezra had been nice enough to reintroduce himself to Sokka as just himself, and Sokka had to agree that being Ezra rather than June would certainly make it easier for him and Teo to spend time by themselves in the crowded bar. Not that either seemed to notice there was even a bar around them. Sokka didn’t feel bad ducking off to attempt to get the glitter off when Teo was left in Ezra's clearly capable hands. 

He’d still been attempting to spirit guide through the night--hinting and pointing things out and huffing in a way he knew he’d picked up from Zuko but hopefully conveyed how dumb Teo was being--and it seemed to be paying off. Clearly he was right, because when Sokka returned from the bathroom, the two were even closer together at the similarly glitter-flung table, empty glasses scattered across the surface. They were leaned together in a conversation completely separate from the noise and crowds in the room, just their flirtatious smiles and intense discussion and not-quite-touching hands. 

Had he and Zuko really been  _ that  _ bad? Thinking back to Katara's wedding, they probably had been. God, the amount he'd just stared longingly at Zuko while convinced his hot neighbor didn't like him that way. The now recognizable version of Zuko's flirting and affection that whole weekend. They'd been such dumbasses, and they were stupider even than these two, because at least Teo and Ezra had the excuse of being twenty-two. Sokka and Zuko absolutely had not.

Eh, they’d worked it out in the end and that was what mattered. In fact, Sokka took a moment to pull out his phone and check his messages for the first time post-show. He grinned at the alert icon and clicked it open.

Zuko:  _ Hope youre having fun because Im bored as hell here. Maybe people really could have done without me tonight… Buy Teo a drink for me and dont let a queen drag you home _

Sokka laughed to himself in surprise and typed back a response.

Sokka:  _ was that a PUN???  _ 🙌

Zuko:  _ What? Not an intentional one _

Sokka:  _ god i love you _

Sokka:  _ also see? you should have just come with us! and really you adorable dummy you’re the only one i’m letting *drag* me anywhere  _ 😏  _ you oughta know that by now _

He slid his phone into his back pocket again and headed for the table where Teo and Ezra were still in their bubble of conversation, giggling and watching each other and blushing. Sokka just had to laugh. They barely even registered him as he sat back down again, although Teo did look him over after a moment.

"No luck with the glitter?" he asked sympathetically, and Sokka chuckled.

"Nope, apparently not,” Sokka said.

“Ko’s a menace,” Ezra said, grinning, “but glitter’s not a bad look for you, really.”

“Too bad my boyfriend doesn’t agree,” Sokka said, rubbing at his arm again, “so if I wanna get within twenty feet of him tonight, I might have to head out now to deal with this.” He jerked his head toward the door with an apologetic smile.

Teo's face fell a little. "Oh, got it.” He glanced at Ezra for a moment. “Yeah, that's fine," he nodded at Sokka again. "We can head out now."

"Oh no, that's not what I was saying!" Sokka replied quickly. "I can always come back and pick you up later if you want since I drove, but if you're having fun," he raised a suggestive eyebrow, "then you should stay as long as you want. Just, you know, the two of you."

Teo shot him a grateful smile.

"You sure that's ok?" he asked.

"What the hell else are queer office buddies for?" Sokka elbowed him in the arm.

"Or…" Ezra ventured, watching Teo with his sharp eyes still touched with impeccable makeup, " _ I  _ could always drive you home if you want."

Teo looked over in surprise and blushed again. "Oh, well, um…"

“Just, if that would help,” Ezra added, briefly flustered, and god, they were both so adorable and stupid.

Sokka stood up and took his coat off the back of his chair.

“So there you go--lots of options." He grinned. "Zuko did want me to buy you a drink in solidarity,” he offered. “Want one before I go?”

Teo smiled again and glanced over at Ezra again.

“Nah, I think I’m ok,” he said, looking back. “Thanks again for this, Sokka.”

“Of course,” Sokka replied. “Drinks on Zuko next time then. I’m sure he’d be  _ delighted. _ ”

He probably wouldn’t, but that’d be the whole fun. Honestly, the idea of Zuko here tonight, possibly covered in glitter and being teased by a drag queen with a filthy mouth, caused Sokka a great deal of joy. But he was feeling much more joy at the idea of getting home, dealing with the glitter, and then banging on Zuko's door and throwing himself into his arms and demanding to be carried to bed. And Zuko would do it, Sokka spider-monkey-ed around him, and he'd bitch the whole time while Sokka made fun of him. And then he’d have a whole night with him where Zuko would tell him marginally terrifying work shift stories and Sokka would play with his hair and attempt to make him laugh with stuff from the show. Then they’d get all snarled up together in the blankets to sleep, and he could look forward to waking up to an armload of Hot Downstairs Boyfriend and trying to tempt him into lazy morning sex and going out for coffee.

Wow, they’d gotten domestic quickly. Sokka should not have been getting this worked up over that specific, fairly benign, mental picture. And yet he was, and he wasn’t mad about it. He shook his head and shot another smile down at his office buddy.

“Ok, well, I’m gonna head out then,” he announced, because there was still the showering and steel wool to deal with, “but seriously, call me if you need a ride. I'll keep my phone loud."

Teo promised he would and quickly confirmed that Sokka was safe to drive (which he was - Sokka wasn't an idiot), and Sokka said again how nice it was to meet Ezra before giving the pair a last wave and heading for the door. He navigated back through the crowds and gave another nod to the leopard print girl at the front booth and stepped out into the night. His ears were a little muffled, he noticed, when faced with the comparative quiet, but it was good to take a deep breath too and feel the chill. He sort of hated to put his poor jacket on and infest it with the glitter too, so he carried it, trusting his hearty blood (and the image of a post-work, cuddly-tired Zuko) to get him to the car. It wasn't too cold outside, and there were more people out on the sidewalk now between the Garden and where he'd parked. Still, Sokka walked quickly as his skin prickled, and he shot Zuko one more quick text letting him know he was on the way back now and that he better be prepared to be tackled with overwhelming and annoying affection. 

It was the act of texting that probably led to him crashing into someone on the sidewalk.

"Hey, sorry--" Sokka said quickly, looking up, only to realize he'd come face to face with the Mediocre White Man from earlier. "Oh what the fu--"

The guy seemed to recognize him too, although now he was considerably more red-faced than he had been at their first interaction, and the guy gave Sokka a quick shove back, making him stumble.

"What's your problem?" Sokka barked, pushing his phone into his jacket pocket again.

"You are! You and that little cripple and all of ‘em!" the guy barked right back, face red and eyes bright, words slurred with anger or alcohol or both. "Think you're special, you and all the damn queens like you! Making me look at fruity little gay boys and men in dresses and--"

Ooh, so that had taken a quick turn, the guy spitting as he yelled, and Sokka tried to quell the anger and disgust rising in his stomach.

Teo was safe and fine. Ezra was safe and fine. Neither of them were hearing this and couldn't be hurt by it. Sokka didn't have to engage with this kind of bullshit. He just needed to get past this guy and then everything would be ok. 

Sokka put up his hands and tried to keep his voice calm as he took a step to the side. "Look, I'm just going back to my car, and clearly you've been drinking a lot since we had our last pleasant encounter, so just--"

The guy took a step forward and shoved Sokka again. 

"Seriously?" Sokka snapped. "What are we, fifteen?"

More people on the sidewalk were moving, and unfortunately, it looked like a lot of the same homophobes from earlier were still milled around outside the Tap Room. Sokka felt a lurch of worry in his stomach but tried to focus. This would be fine if he could just stay calm and reasonable.

"People don't get away with insulting me," the main guy said, getting into Sokka's space again. "Think I give a shit what some bitch like you thinks? Think you can talk shit about me and I won't--"

“Then don’t be a dick to a kid in a wheelchair, asshole! What’s wrong with you?” Sokka yelled, forgetting ‘calm’ and ‘reasonable’ immediately as he shoved the guy back. “Be a fucking man and pick on someone your own size!”

“Yeah?” the guy said, and Sokka realized only after the fact that the two of them were pretty similar in size, although the white guy was brawnier and had, you know, backup.

Good work, Sokka. Still, he stood his ground, looking for an opportunity to get past and make a break for his car.

“People don't fucking insult me,” the guy repeated, stepping forward again, and Sokka stepped back. "You think I can't take some gay, Indian bitch like you?"

"Oh fuck off, you stupid piece of shit," Sokka said, realizing he was wildly outnumbered as the other men drew closer behind their leader.

Too bad Sokka had never been very good at backing down from bullies. And now that this asshole had somehow gone after Teo, Sokka's sexuality,  _ and _ his race, he was about ready to throw caution to the wind and throw a punch instead. 

The guy took another step, and Sokka stood his ground, hands curling into fists.

"All I'm trying to do is get to my damn car," he said, glaring, "so why don’t you and your inbred, shit-for-brains buddies just eat a di--"

He was not prepared at all for the abrupt fist to the middle of his face, or the insane way it would hurt and instantly make his eyes water. He stumbled back, dropping his jacket and holding his bleeding nose, because  _ shit _ , it had been a long time since he’d dealt with being punched. Damn it, bad calls all around. Even as he felt the blood already sticky on his hand, he watched the guy approach again while one of his cronies circled around toward Sokka’s other side. His vision was still watery, though, blurring everything a little too much for comfort. Sokka had the terrible awareness that more people were watching too, that someone was shouting something from somewhere, and that the guys were now fully between Sokka and his car. 

This was probably not a situation he should have let himself get into alone. Not that he’d  _ intentionally  _ gotten into this situation, but still. Where was his ninja boyfriend when he really needed him?

Bless Zuko for the little aikido he  _ had _ taught Sokka, which at least made him able to block the next blow that came toward his ribs by tucking an elbow to his side, although getting punched in the  _ elbow _ didn't feel a hell of a lot better than getting punched anywhere else. But it did give him the opportunity to bring his other fist up toward the large man's face, which caught him in the jaw and knocked his head back. It also hurt Sokka's own hand like a  _ bitch,  _ but maybe that would be enough to get away. 

But no, there was the main guy's backup, coming in harder now, probably in defense of their asshole leader. And that "coming in harder" looked like a different fist connecting with the side of Sokka's head and his cheekbone and eye, fucking up his vision and his equilibrium even further. Everything tilted and spun a little bit as he lurched sideways and tried to stay away from the people around him (were there two of them? three? he couldn't be sure anymore). That side of the head shot had definitely messed with his sense of motion and self awareness. No time for pride now. He tucked his face, perfectly willing to just get out of this no more scathed than he already was, but he wasn't entirely sure how possible that would be as this progressed. 

He took a few steps backwards, hoping he could retreat to the Garden and just hide in there nursing his bruised face and bruised ego for a while, but he ran into someone else. Someone who grabbed his shoulders. Sokka immediately drove an elbow backwards into whoever it was, hoping he wasn't injuring some innocent bystander. Based on the guttural swear in response and the release of his shoulder, he'd made the right choice. God bless Zuko and Sokka's nosey persistence. 

Even through his watery eyes, he saw someone approaching. The same guy? He wasn't sure, but kept his head down and covered as best he could as he took another step back and found himself shoved forward again by that guy behind him. He was then met with an unfairly sharp punch in the side that he tried to dodge but couldn't, and fuck, it was just like when he'd been a skinny teen who also didn't know when to get away from dangerous situations (although the alcohol was clearly exacerbating this particular bit of fuckery). He couldn't tell anymore at all how many people there were or if the people yelling were for or against him. Another punch in the face that blurred his vision worse. A shove that sent him stumbling again and off the sidewalk, trapped his foot awkwardly between the curb and a chipped, old parking block. Someone was screaming something, but Sokka couldn't quite hear what it was. Another hit that sent him tumbling, but that was when he actually became aware of his caught foot, because his body was going backwards and his foot most definitely was not. 

His vision went red as a flash of pain raced through his leg. There was a shout from somewhere. He was falling. He couldn't catch himself. There was only ground and sky and an unforgiving explosion of new pain in his head that overshadowed anything else.

"Self-inflicted my ass," he muttered as the world went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry for beating up our boy, and he's gonna have a rough time for a few chapters. But next chapter we get Zuko POV and this writer's best attempt at medical protocol and knowledge. Anyway, feel free to shout at me here or on tumblr (onmyliteraturebullshitagain) if you need/want to. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw for descriptions of physical injury
> 
> Please do remember that ol' Lit here is not a medical professional, so hopefully you can accept any medical/procedural inaccuracies for the sake of plot and, you know, romance. :) If there is anything terribly egregious, though, please do feel free to let me know and I'll do what I can to revise/correct!

It had been a slow night, and Zuko was down to just the sad, cold dregs of his coffee in the travel mug Sokka had gotten him for Christmas. Not that he was _disappointed,_ per se, that more people weren't having breathing problems or getting in car accidents. It was just boring as shit when all they had to do was paperwork and inventory and cleaning, especially when it was after midnight and he _could_ have been watching his boyfriend make a fool of himself at a drag show. 

At least he'd be off soon, and based on Sokka's last text, he'd be home by the time Zuko got there. Which meant a warm Sokka to cuddle up against and ask to rub his head, which Sokka would do because he was indulgent and kind that way. Then Zuko would _finally_ have the chance for a good night's sleep and a relaxing day off. Just a little longer and he'd be home free to make fun of his boyfriend about his texts while simultaneously exploiting that Sokka was cuddly and tactile enough to put up with Zuko curling up around him and burying his face in his neck. Win-win.

He was thinking about this and finishing his sad coffee when a call came in for an assault near a bar called the Tap Room.

Nick, who was a squarish, sandy-haired and often messy guy a bit older than Zuko, was already up in the front seat and looked over his shoulder as Zuko got up to join him. They were often paired together and somehow, considering their differences, they did make a good team. On slow nights like this, Zuko definitely preferred being paired with Nick who would do his job and play music and make the occasional sarcastic comment, to working with someone like Dallas who didn’t know how to shut the fuck up. But that didn’t matter right now. Zuko turned up the radio dispatch as he settled in.

"Bar fight?" Nick guessed, starting the ambulance. "Mugging?"

"Probably," Zuko agreed, checking one more time over his shoulder that everything was in place before they headed out. "But bad enough to call 911?"

Nick shrugged and then they were on the way and getting the rest of the information as they drove. Man in mid-twenties with possible broken leg, possible concussion, police on the way, keep an eye out for multiple perpetrators. Not pleasant at all, but not terribly far from standard. So Zuko wasn't sure why something was twisting up in his gut at the description. He'd responded to _far_ worse cases than this that probably _should_ have made him sick or worried. So why did this one have him anxious?

"Hey, is the Tap Room by any other bars?" he asked as Nick drove, glancing aside at him.

"Maybe?" the other man replied, looking confused. "Why?"

"Just wondering," Zuko replied and forced himself to focus on protocol and running through possible interventions as they drove.

There was an eclectic crowd on the sidewalk as they pulled up, and that anxious feeling had returned to Zuko's stomach as he looked over the group and the location, the strip of buildings and the two different bars. One a standard tavern sort of place. One with neon lettering and a rainbow flag glowing on the door.

"Oh god no," he murmured to himself as he climbed out and immediately moved into action.

Even with his stomach in knots, he knew how to do his job. He assessed the scene for safety first, watched for physical evidence, avoiding bodily fluids on the ground, approached the cluster of people around who he could only assume was the victim. Zuko, heart in his throat, kept his worries at bay. This was just a regular job. No reason to get weird. It could be anyone, and Zuko and Nick would deal with it like they always did. People looked up and stared as he approached (he mentally filed the people there away like he'd write in his report, separate and clinically) and he had to shove them as politely as possible out of the way as he moved through. Why humanity just loved being present for suffering was beyond him, but he pushed past until he heard the mutter of a far too familiar voice. His stomach turned to ice inside him.

"Did someone--I need to get home because Boomerang--someone needs to get him outside but--I don't know--I need to try to call Zuko--"

Sokka was propped up against the wall, clearly having been moved by someone else, and still separated from Zuko by a few milling strangers, many on their phones or directly in his damn way. Even from this distance, it was obvious Sokka's face was contorted with pain and injury, one eye swollen, his nose bloody, and his lip split. Someone had wrapped his familiar denim jacket around his shoulders, although his bare arms were still free, and he was trying to gesture with bloody hands to the large man beside him. There was some dirt in his hair, which had gone a bit loose from its tie, and his right leg was definitely held in front of him in a way that wasn't entirely normal. Along with the large man (a bouncer probably, Zuko noted dimly) a few people were also clustered close by--two younger guys using their coats to block the wind, a drag queen in a pink dress keeping people back, a woman who sounded like she was giving a witness statement over the phone to the police. Zuko forced himself to keep approaching. 

"Oh my god, Zuko," Nick whispered from just behind him. "Is that Sokka? Should I--"

"I've got him," Zuko said immediately, voice almost flinty. 

"We could call for--" Nick began, but Zuko shot him a look.

"And make him wait for someone else to get here? I've _got_ him," Zuko said again. "Can you take care of--"

Without even needing him to finish, Nick patted him on the arm and was off. The guy was sometimes a trial, but at least he and Zuko fell into a rhythm naturally and he was a good dude, and a good EMT, underneath it all. Zuko could trust him to do his job so Zuko could also do his.

The nearer he got to Sokka, the more Zuko wanted to throw himself through the crowd and onto Sokka and just pull him into his arms. But he made himself take a deep breath, the slow, held kind he'd learned long ago. He was still a professional, and acting like a boyfriend instead of an EMT wouldn't help Sokka now. If he'd wanted to just panic and be useless, he could have let Nick treat Sokka, but that wasn't gonna happen. So he kept himself calm as he shoved forward. He made himself concentrate. 

"--supposed to get home," Sokka was still babbling quietly as Zuko got closer, "just wanna see Zuko. How’m I supposed to--why can't I--"

Zuko moved through the last few people and tried to focus on his job and not on the fact that this was Sokka. His Sokka. He pushed those feelings down as he crouched in front of him. There was protocol: assess injuries, decide if they needed a doctor on scene, all the things he did by instinct now. He could do this. He had to.

"Sokka," he said, raising a hand to draw his eyes. "Sokka, look at me."

Sokka squinted and blinked a few times but did manage to look at him, and something lit up in his face even through the injuries. It made Zuko's heart clench in his chest.

"Zuko!" he said, reaching out for him. "You're actually here! What--how're you here?"

“I got the call, so here I am,” Zuko said softly, voice tight, already reaching for Sokka.

"Wait," said the bouncer on Sokka's other side as he started talking again, "are you seriously Zuko? Like, his boyfriend Zuko?"

"Yes," Zuko replied, still focused on Sokka's face--contusions, no visible bones through the skin, some distance in his eyes--"horrible coincidence, but I'm the EMT that got called so here I am."

"He's been talking about you and asking for you," the bouncer offered, and Zuko ignored him because he didn't give a single shit right now what that guy had to say.

He cared about _Sokka_.

Sokka, who reached for his arm, expression going tense again.

"Hey," Zuko managed a soft smile at him, and he caught his hand and set it gently back in his lap, "I'm here, ok? We're gonna get this taken care of."

"Knew you could fix it. Knew you'd take care of me. Don't know _how_ you're here but you are and--" Sokka said, trying to smile and then wincing instead, "but also, why's so much of me feel like shit? Fuck, I'm just..."

Distantly, Zuko heard Nick dealing with the crowd and heading back to the ambulance, heard more people approaching, but he kept his attention on Sokka. Sokka reached for one of his hands again and this time Zuko let him. Not standard protocol but none of this really was so too damn bad. He held on, feeling Sokka's grip, even tacky and acrid with blood. 

"I'm here. I've got you." Zuko tried to relax his face as he squeezed Sokka's hand. "I'm gonna check you over now, ok?" he said, falling naturally into the voice, the talking, keeping people conscious and focused. "Tell me if anything hurts especially bad. We're just gonna keep talking, ok? Just like we always do. Just you and me."

Sokka nodded and seemed to try for another smile, clearly calmer now, and Zuko's heart clenched again because it was a damn lie. This couldn't be normal, not with Sokka like this. But still, with his free hand, Zuko did try to carefully investigate the damage on Sokka's face. It looked bad, but at least from a more detailed check there were no broken bones, no lacerations that would actually need to be sutured. He told this all to Sokka in a steady voice as he worked, fingers gentle around his bruised eye, the other injuries on his face, and Sokka just nodded and watched him, clung to his hand. Then Zuko pulled out his little flashlight and clicked it on with his thumb.

"Look here for me just a second," he said, flashing the light between his eyes. There was a little unevenness in the pupils as they responded to the brightness, enough to make him unconsciously hold a little tighter to Sokka's hand.

"That was weird," Sokka muttered, blinking at him. "Are my eyes messed up? I think I'm seeing ok--is this how I normally see?" He winced sharply as he reached out for his leg with his free hand.

"Your eyes are ok. The light checks for a concussion," Zuko said gently, watching Sokka's face again with a wrinkle of concern in his forehead. 

"Am I concussioned?" Sokka asked and then squinted his eyes. "Concusted? None of these sound right."

"Did you hit your head at some point tonight?" Zuko asked.

"Concussed!" Sokka announced proudly, and Zuko just tried to smile as he nodded in response "Oh and I fell," Sokka added finally, "I think?"

"I came out when a group of guys was going at him," the bouncer supplied, and Zuko finally looked over at him, "and it looked like his foot got caught on the curb and he fell when one guy shoved him backwards. The guys ran off then, but there were a few witnesses by the end who called the cops. I’m the one that moved him out of the street.” The guy looked briefly panicked. “Was that ok? Should I not have moved him?”

“We'll see,” Zuko said, hardly listening again, because Sokka had groaned and squeezed his eyes shut.

Zuko was gonna find these people who’d hurt Sokka and _kill_ them. No regrets, no second thoughts, just straight murder. He was pretty confident in his ability to make some bodies disappear if needed. He had tools. He knew cops. He had enough rage to keep him going for as long as it took to fucking destroy them.

But later. He had work to do right now.

"Is that what happened? I remember some of that but--" Sokka said, squinting again, "something's wrong with my head and my leg _really_ fuckin' hurts."

“We’re gonna figure it out,” Zuko said steadily, more willing to reassure than normal, more willing to promise.

Because he _was_ gonna figure it out. He wouldn’t let Sokka keep hurting. He couldn’t.

Nick was there then and getting the bouncer's full statement so Zuko could focus on treatment. Nick would get the stretcher prepped, and it was on Zuko to make sure the patient was safe to be transported, focus on the man that he loved lying here bleeding and confused and--

No. This was a patient. He could do this. He moved to check his leg, remembering the briefing, and just based on heat and swelling alone, it was probably a fracture. Sokka winced again, nails digging into Zuko's hand as he squeezed.

"Shit--I don't--what am I supposed to do with--" Sokka stammered, eyes squinting shut again. "God, I can't think--brain's weird."

The dilation plus disorientation… but also Zuko knew him, had information he didn't have with a stranger. How much of this was a concussion and what might be the ADHD? Especially if Sokka had been drinking, which always made his focus worse and his thoughts more scattered. He gently squeezed his hand again.

"Have you had much to drink tonight?" Zuko asked, checking his neck now for injury or tenderness. "Take your meds at all today?"

"No meds," Sokka answered and managed a kind of pained smile. "Figured there'd be enough stimulation at a drag show without it."

"Ok--makes sense," Zuko said, trying to smile a little. "Drinks? And I'm gonna check the back of your head now, ok?"

Sokka let him, groaning as he was forced to release Zuko's hand and moved a little from the wall. There was a cut on the back of his head where he'd hit it on something, but it didn't look terribly deep and only had a little swelling around it. Thank god. He settled Sokka carefully back against the wall.

"One--two drinks maybe? A couple hours ago," Sokka finally answered, wincing again. "I think? Shit--is that bad? God, my ears keep ringing."

Zuko nodded, taking his hand again without prompting. He wasn't entirely sure it was just to comfort Sokka, though.

"Ok, so your ears are ringing," Zuko said, ticking through the mental list of concussion symptoms, "do you have a headache or nausea? Any dizziness or fatigue?"

"Headache," Sokka answered and turned his eyes back to him, bright and pleading now. "Zuko, I really wanna go home."

"I know," Zuko replied, ignoring the squeeze in his heart that statement created. "I know, and we'll get you home as soon as we can, but we're gonna get you to the hospital first."

"Hospital? Shit I--" Sokka said, trying to move again only to stop immediately, face twisting up with pain. "Oh my god, everything _hurts_ . What-- _fuck_ it hurts, Zuko--I don't know what to _do_."

Zuko ignored the stinging feel of tears in his eyes. He would protect Sokka and make sure he was cared for and safe and then he would find the people that did this. They’d rue the fucking day they were born by the time Zuko was done with them.

“You look upset--'re you ok?” Sokka muttered, squeezing his hand, and Zuko tried to soften his expression again. Trust Sokka to be concerned about _him_ right now.

"I'm fine--of course I'm fine," he said, trying to smile. "Don't worry about me."

Focus on Sokka. Deal with this like you would anyone else. 

"Ok, so you likely do have a mild concussion," he explained, keeping his voice even and his expression calm, "and some surface injuries on your face along with a possible fracture in your leg. So we gotta get you to the hospital."

"Damn that's… at least you're here," Sokka muttered, watching him with slightly bleary eyes. "Dr. Zuko to the rescue." He tried to smile again, but it came through as more of a grimace.

"I'm glad I'm here too," Zuko replied, staying calm, keeping to the procedure. "Now this is important, Sokka, because we need to move you safely."

Sokka immediately trained his eyes on his face, so trusting and sure even clenched with discomfort and worry, and there was that awful twist in Zuko's chest again.

"Do you feel any pain or pressure in your back or neck right now? Anything that stands out or feels wrong?" Zuko asked, reassured at least that Sokka was still holding his hand, which meant he still had control of his arms. He was here. He'd be ok. It was all fixable.

Zuko wasn't sure he'd ever been so sick with fear and anger in his life, and certainly never at his job, but he kept it back.

"Just my leg," Sokka said with another wince. "Everything else just…" He motioned vaguely with his free hand.

Zuko gave a small smile and laid his other hand on Sokka's uninjured leg. "Can you move this leg for me?" he asked, and Sokka obligingly rolled his ankle a little. "Great. Thank you. You're doing a great job."

Sokka managed a small laugh. "You're easy to please right now," he said, still clearly trying to joke, still himself deep down. "But I…" his expression flinched again, "Zuko, I…" 

Zuko glanced behind him at the sound of Nick approaching. 

"Time to go," Zuko said to Sokka and stood, forced to let go of Sokka's hand for just a moment. 

Sokka’s hand slid through his, still reaching out for him, and his non-swollen eye was round with nervousness. Zuko shot him a careful smile, always oriented toward him, pulled between the mechanics of his job and that current, strangling desire to just keep touching Sokka. 

The job had to take precedence for now. Sokka needed to be safely moved, needed to be taken care of. Zuko took a deep breath in through his nose and kept going.

Together, he and Nick got Sokka loaded onto the stretcher, people still milling around them and talking and asking questions that they both mostly ignored. Sokka whimpered a little at being moved, holding himself rigid, and Zuko again had to push down his own feelings.

“Almost there,” he whispered, just barely brushing his fingertips against Sokka’s arm, the only hint of extra comfort he could offer at the moment.

"Wha--what do I do?" Sokka said, reaching for Zuko again.

"Just try to relax," Zuko replied, forcing a small smile. “Slow breaths, focus on that. Just a weird version of an Angst Day to deal with, ok? Just think like that.”

Nick shot him a curious look, but Zuko ignored him as they rolled Sokka toward the ambulance.

Sokka managed a bit of a smile. “Sokka Angst Day?” he muttered. “Well that sucks.”

Zuko didn’t respond as he and Nick loaded Sokka up into the ambulance, just trying to keep his focus on the work, on how to proceed as they headed to the hospital. He already knew Nick would handle the driving and Zuko would stay in the back--there wasn't a chance in hell he'd be leaving Sokka's side now. 

“I’ve got you,” he said again, maybe to Sokka. Maybe just to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! We get more Zuko POV in the coming chapters. Also, was anyone surprised that under the sort of grumpy exterior he's actually a big old emotional drama queen? Because I wasn't. Haha
> 
> Thanks as always for reading, kudos-ing, and commenting!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the back of the ambulance, Zuko continues doing his best to take care of Sokka and keep control of himself.

"What'do I need to do? What happens now?" Sokka asked nervously, wincing and laying his head back flat, but even that made him flinch and grimace again. 

The skin around his one eye continued to change color even as the blood seemed to be clotting from his nose and his mouth, but his expression was more tense, clearly taking in the bright interior of the ambulance as the doors shut. It was mostly white and smelled like antiseptic, filled with cabinets and machinery, the stuff Zuko didn’t even think about anymore.

But to someone outside, probably frightening. Clean and strange and intimidating.

Zuko climbed in after, dropping Sokka's jacket on the bench beside him, and positioned himself so Nick could start the ambulance again. 

“Just keep breathing, Sokka,” Zuko said and then nodded up to Nick.

The engine roared to life and finally it was just him and Sokka. No crowds, no outside observers, no one who could possibly cause him hurt again. Just them, even if it was all wrong. Sokka still on his back and bloody, Zuko’s heart still hammering in his chest in a way he hadn’t experienced before, couldn't seem to calm down. Some of it was because Sokka was still watching him with that nervous expression--fear and pain and confusion all battling across his already expressive face. So Zuko took his hand and held for just a moment. They were together at least, and some part of him couldn't stay completely professional anymore. Sokka's hand was grimy with blood, but Zuko brought it briefly to his lips anyway, heart tight in his chest.

"You just keep trying to relax as much as you can," he said gently, that hand still squeezed between his own. "I'm gonna take care of you, ok?"

"I know you are," Sokka said softly, nodding a little as Zuko released his hand and stood.

There were steps to take, protocol to follow. This was his familiar domain now, and he could do this.

Then Sokka's face squinting in pain again as he tried to reposition and Zuko moved back to him immediately, all that tossed aside. Sokka’s eyes were trained on his face, and Zuko went into action without thought, checking over him visually, afraid he’d missed some obvious injury, that something else was wrong. Something Zuko should have seen. There had to be a way he could help now, could retroactively protect him from harm.

Sokka reached out for him, carefully caught his hand, his eyes a little bright.

"I trust you,” Sokka said softly. “But I'm… Zuko, I'm kinda scared."

Zuko blinked a few times to compose himself, watching those brilliant eyes search his face. He forced down the tears in his throat and nodded.

“It’s ok to be scared,” he said, calm, reassuring, controlled as he squeezed Sokka’s hand, “but I’ve got you. I'm not going anywhere. You're gonna get through this."

Sokka nodded, just barely, and Zuko moved back to work. There was more to check, be sure of before they got to the hospital. But at least that work gave him an excuse to touch Sokka, to know for sure everything that was wrong, everything Zuko could fix. He started from his head, checking again for swelling, bruising, cuts, anything wrong. As he moved through, careful touches, quick moving eyes, he was struck with a horrible awareness of how often his hands had touched the same places before: through his hair, over his cheekbones, down to his jaw.

"What're you doing?" Sokka whispered as he stared up at him, and Zuko met his eyes again. 

"Just checking for any other injuries that might have gotten missed," he said. "Is that ok?"

Sokka nodded, face still looking strangely afraid, and Zuko kept going: his neck, his collarbones, his shoulders, his chest. 

Sokka winced sharply when Zuko got to the right side of his ribcage.

"That's--I don't like that," he rasped, eyes shut tight again, and Zuko stopped immediately and moved to slide Sokka's shirt out of the way to see what might be causing him pain. 

He hated revealing that familiar expanse of skin this way, the divots of his hips and the slope of his waist, but he did it anyway, stopping at his ribs and feeling carefully. It was harder to see than sometimes because of Sokka's coloration, but there was definitely bruising happening along the curve of his ribs. Maybe from landing on something as he fell, a curb or parking block. Maybe from someone hitting him in the side with brass knuckles or heavy rings that would do more damage than just a fist. Even thinking of the second one made Zuko's throat close, but he felt carefully for further injury. No fractures he could feel, though an x-ray would show that for sure, and Sokka still hissed each time Zuko was forced to press around the bruises.

"I'm sorry it hurts," Zuko whispered tightly. "I don't wanna hurt you, but I have to check--"

"I get it--ow. I trust you," Sokka said again, even with his eyes still pinched shut and his teeth gritted. "You're fixing it. It's ok."

Fuck, Zuko wanted to crawl right on that stretcher with him and just pull him into his arms, hold him against his chest and just murmur over and over to him that he was sorry and it would be ok. Instead, he forced himself to take a breath and continue working, seeking out things like the ribs, hidden pain and injury lost in the extremes of the broken leg.

He let Sokka's shirt stay lifted (it was Sokka, and it was him; he could have this tiny intimacy) as he worked again. Across his chest, his waist, his abdomen. That same soft skin and those same places that in other situations he had touched, kissed, laid against, held. Places he knew so well, felt so much about. He would have known the shape of Sokka's side with his eyes closed, would have recognized him by the texture of his skin alone. But he couldn't focus on that now. 

He forced himself to only think about Sokka as a patient, keep talking through what he was doing, calm and professional to distance himself from it. That was anyone's swollen eye, not the eyes he looked to for reassurance. That was anyone's split lip, not the lips he kissed anytime they had to separate. That was anyone's bloody neck, not the neck he tucked his face into just to breathe in the reassuring natural smell of Sokka. Those were anyone's bruised ribs, not the ribs he slid his hands over in the night to pull Sokka closer even in his sleep. That was anyone's fractured leg, not the legs thrown so often across his lap on the couch while they joked and relaxed. These were just parts to care for and treat, not separate pieces that together created a body and person he loved so much he thought he could overflow with it.

Shit, he had to keep it together.

"How was the show?" Zuko asked tightly as he continued to work down his body with his trained precision, needing Sokka awake and cognizant and talking. Quiet Sokka was wrong, worse somehow, and he had to be ok. Zuko needed him so desperately to be ok. So he nodded to him again. "Was the show any good?"

"The show?" Sokka asked, blinking at him.

"With Teo?" Zuko prompted.

"Oh. Right," Sokka said, something relaxing just a little as Zuko felt for any hardness in his stomach (none, thank god). "That kinda tickles."

“Sorry. Not intentional," Zuko said with a small smile, moving down to his hips, "but tell me about the bar and Teo and his friend."

"Oh, um, it was fun,” Sokka said, wincing a little again as Zuko continued working over his body. 

“How about Teo?” Zuko asked, looking back up at his face with what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

Sokka chuckled, just barely. “Apparently Teo and his friend are just younger, stupid you and me," he replied with a bit of a smile that transformed into another grimace.

Zuko paused for just a moment, forehead knitting. "What?"

"They like each other but are pretending they don't--or don't realize it--or whatever dumb shit we did," Sokka said, face twisting up again as Zuko checked and stabilized his leg. " _ Ow. _ "

"Sorry about that," Zuko said, trying to keep his hands gentle. He grabbed supplies and moved back to his face to start actually cleaning and bandaging, starting with the cut on the back of his head. “But hey, hopefully they’ll figure it out like we did.”

“Yeah… I hope so,” Sokka said softly, wincing again as Zuko worked, and fuck, he hated hurting him, even unintentionally while trying to help.

“We ended up ok,” Zuko said with more positivity and calm than he really felt inside. Anything to keep Sokka with him, talking to him. “And we had a way weirder beginning than those two, I bet.”

Sokka smiled a little again, but it fled quickly in the face of pain and nerves. Zuko was careful as he continued treating the injuries on his face, working over those familiar features and around those beautiful eyes that still made his heart squeeze in his chest. Sokka stared up at him and swallowed hard.

"I…" Sokka started, and Zuko found his eyes again.

"Did that hurt?" Zuko asked around the nervous lump in his throat, moving his hands back from Sokka's face where he'd been treating a cut above his eye.

"No, it's not--I…" Sokka tried again.

Zuko, in a tender and unprofessional gesture, ran a fingertip gently down Sokka’s cheek. "What's going on?"

Sokka shook his head, nervous and ashamed at once, which Zuko couldn’t understand. 

"It's stupid, but can you--I know you don’t say mushy stuff a lot and you're at  _ work,  _ but…” Sokka muttered.

Zuko met his eyes and waited for him to finish.

“Can you..." Sokka said, still looking pained and embarrassed, "can you call me ‘sweetheart’ like you do sometimes? It’s just--it’s nice and it always--it makes me feel really good when you do, and I  _ really _ feel like shit right now, Zuko, and I'm scared and I just…”

Zuko couldn’t hold back, heart hurting, and bent and kissed Sokka’s forehead. He cupped his face between both his hands for just a moment and stayed there, as close as he could safely get to holding the man he loved in a situation like this. He could feel Sokka’s shaky breath on his throat, the press of their heads as Zuko moved to rest them together and take a breath himself. He’d deal with whatever consequences came of these choices later, but for now...

“Oh sweetheart, of course I can,” Zuko said, swallowing his tears and meeting Sokka’s eyes again as he drew back and stroking his thumbs against his cheeks. Sokka’s eyes were glassy and bright. “I’ll be as mushy as you want right now, sweetheart.”

Something eased in Sokka’s expression, just a little.

“Anything I can do,” Zuko continued, still holding his face as Sokka reached up a hand to grab his arm and hang on, “my gorgeous, amazing man, my whole damn heart, because I’m right here and I love you and we're gonna get you through this.” 

Zuko would not cry in the back of this ambulance. He was not gonna lose it at his job. Not when Sokka needed him.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t gonna kiss his forehead again, wasn’t gonna take the moment he could get to hold him close.

“So glad I have you,” Sokka murmured, hand still curled around Zuko’s arm and digging into the fabric.

"Me too," Zuko replied. "God, you have no idea."

Zuko stroked his cheek again and drew back, forcing himself to take a deep breath and concentrate, finish his job, make sure Sokka was as good as he could possibly be by the time they got to the hospital. Sokka continued to watch him, but there was less fear in his face now. Still pain wrinkling his forehead, but more sureness in his eyes.

“Sorry about the glitter,” Sokka said quietly a moment later, and Zuko made a noise somewhere close to a laugh as he finally noticed the fling of sparkles across Sokka’s shirt and arm and probably now getting into the back of his ambulance. Only Sokka would possibly still be thinking about that past conversation right now.

God, he loved this man so much.

“I’ll let it slide this once,” Zuko replied, “just because it’s an emergency.”

“Good to know,” Sokka said, clearly trying for a light sort of tone as he added, “Do I finally get the drugs now?"

Zuko managed a smile. "You finally get the drugs," he said, and for just a moment, found and held Sokka's hand tight again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They love each other so much, guys... holy shit. The tenderness of this story is unexpectedly killing me, so I hope you're enjoying it too!
> 
> Anyway, thanks again for reading and for your comments and kudos and everything else! Again, feel free to chat with me more anytime if you'd like on tumblr at onmyliteraturebullshitagain. You're all the best :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko's supposed to leave once Sokka's safely in a hospital bed, but he... can't.

It was easier to keep his emotions at bay once they got to the hospital, because then Zuko had things to do again, and people around him, and steps he had to follow. Sokka headed immediately to the ER, taken there by Zuko and Nick to meet the triage nurse. It was also on them to go through the paperwork, have Sokka sign the document saying he understood his privacy rights and was ok with them billing insurance, and talk to the staff now addressing his most urgent concerns. Based on his injuries, he was taken in for x-rays, and there was paperwork and reports to do then that at least kept Zuko somewhat near him. Some of that was almost mechanical, easy to separate “Patient” from “Sokka,” but when it was time to leave, to explain and hand off to the nurse and go back to his job, Zuko bulked.

Sokka was safe in a hospital bed, waiting to talk to a doctor about his tests, and he knew logically that the staff at this hospital would take care of him and it would be fine. The ER was slower tonight, which meant faster testing and results, and he'd gotten to a hospital bed quickly. The staff knew what they were doing, would make sure everything was done for him that was needed. He had painkillers in his system now and had stopped wincing and groaning in pain, and his most concerning needs were being met. He also hadn’t returned to the sort of confused babbling that had made Zuko first guess at a concussion, and had stayed quiet for the most part as everything was done around him. Mostly, he'd just kept his eyes on Zuko and smiled occasionally when Zuko looked back, trusting him implicitly in a way that hit Zuko right in the chest. God, he hoped he'd actually earned that kind of trust.

Sokka would be ok now. He was safe now. Zuko had done his job. Yet he lingered in the hospital room, hovering and unable to move.

“You’re off now, aren’t you?” Nick asked, and Zuko nodded, unable to drag his eyes from Sokka, who seemed to now have drifted off to a peaceful sleep. 

Good. If the doctor’s were ok with him sleeping, it meant the concussion wasn’t that severe. He’d be ok. It was fine for Zuko to leave him now, to let him rest and be cared for by someone else.

Still he didn’t move.

Nick patted him on the arm, catching his attention again. “I can handle any end of shift stuff. Just see if you can stay here with him. I think you’ve dealt with enough tonight.”

God, if he was single and Nick swung that way, Zuko could have kissed him right there in the hospital room. The best he could do was a very genuine thank you and a squeeze to Nick's arm. But he also knew, once again with the awful, logical part of his brain, that he wouldn’t actually be allowed to stay. There was no legal precedent for him to be by Sokka all night, even if that’s what he wanted, because they weren’t “family.” They had nothing but the term “boyfriend” between them, which didn’t carry any value in a situation like this. Screw the fact that Sokka was more “family” than almost anyone else in Zuko’s life. His gut twisted with a kind of panic. He was half-tempted to go find a chaplain and just get them married right then if it meant he could stay beside him. But he doubted that was possible--legally or logically. He also didn’t really want to have the “surprise, I panicked so now we’re married even though it’s only been eight months and we’ve literally never talked about it” conversation when Sokka woke up again, so that probably wasn’t the most reasonable solution.

He was spiraling. He needed to calm down.

Nick had already left somewhere in the midst of Zuko’s mental swirl, and now he was faced with a slightly tired-looking nurse who was waiting for him to sign over care. 

“That’s my boyfriend,” he finally told her, voice coming out rough, “and I want to stay with him.”

The nurse (“Song,” according to her nametag) stared at him in surprise.

“You were the responding EMT for your boyfriend?” she asked. 

“Yeah,” Zuko replied, “because the world hates me--but please,” he went on quickly, “is there any way I can stay with him tonight? I just need--I have to know he’s--”

The nurse gave him a sad sort of smile.

“Are you his emergency contact?” she asked. 

“No,” Zuko replied, stomach dropping again. “No, I don’t think I am.”

“Do you have any sort of legal or familial connection at all?" Song asked.

Zuko had to sadly shake his head again.

The nurse gave a low sigh and held out her clipboard again.

“I need you to sign over care,” she said quietly, and Zuko knew it was done. 

He nodded and accepted the pen and paperwork, going through it robotically before passing it back. Song at least had the decency to look a little sorry, which was more than he'd really expected from a random nurse in the middle of the night.

“Please take good care of him,” he said quietly and ran a hand backwards through his hair. “Sorry, I’m sure everyone says that, and I’m sure you would anyway, but…” he swallowed roughly and nodded back at Sokka before finding Song’s eyes again, “that man means more to me than anything else in this damn world, so  _ please  _ take care of him for me.”

Song’s eyes widened a little at the declaration, which yes, was probably a bit much for a random stranger on a Saturday night, especially when Sokka clearly wasn’t dying or anything. But Zuko didn’t take it back and refused to feel bad about it. She looked briefly between him and Sokka, still sleeping quietly in the bed, and then sighed.

“If you  _ happened _ ,” she said quietly, “to be seen around this room, I couldn’t  _ prove  _ that you weren’t just finishing another assignment in your work shift, right?”

Zuko watched her face, hoping she was saying what he thought she was. 

“There’s any  _ number _ of reasons you might still be around the ER or the hospital or this room at this hour, with this specific patient,” Song continued, giving him a pointed look, “and if someone other than me or the physician on duty came in and questioned you, I’m sure you could give a  _ good, professional reason _ why you were here, right?”

“Of--of course,” Zuko replied, holding his breath. “Yes. I could.”

“Alright then,” Song said briskly. “Then I’ll… leave you to your work.”

And once again if Zuko was single and Nurse Song swung that way, he could have kissed her too. So she also got a very genuine ‘thank you’ and a look that probably bordered on manic, but she just nodded again and went to quick check through Sokka's charts before leaving. Once she was gone, Zuko found the chair he'd tossed Sokka's jacket over when they entered and dragged it over to his bedside. He dropped into it, body heavy and aching. Unable to fully shake the 'working' part of his brain, he looked over Sokka's face again. Poor guy would have a hell of a black eye, and they probably wouldn’t be doing a lot of kissing for a while with the cut on his lip, but he was ok. He was safe now, getting cared for, far from the men that had hurt him.

Zuko hadn't paid much attention to if or when the police had arrived or what was happening there, but if these men weren't caught and prosecuted, he'd go full vigilante if he had to. No one was hurting Sokka and getting away with it. That he knew like a sear in his gut, because if it was for the man before him, he'd find and skin those guys himself if he had to.

God in heaven, he'd do  _ anything _ for the man before him. He sat back a little. What an odd and wildly certain realization to have at a time like this.

Zuko shook his head and looked at Sokka and forced himself to breathe.

For now, he just needed to be here where he could look after him, know he was still ok and nothing about his condition changed. Zuko knew Sokka needed the rest. Tomorrow he'd probably have to deal with getting a cast on his leg and going through additional monitoring for the concussion and likely talking formally to the cops. But Zuko still reached out and found Sokka’s hand and held it.

He’d tried to be gentle about it, but it was apparently still enough to wake Sokka up. He blinked up at him a little, and then his face smoothed into a smile.

“Hey there, sweetheart,” Zuko said quietly, pulling the chair a little bit closer.

“You’re still here,” Sokka replied, squeezing his hand and looking so content and relieved that Zuko had a truly visceral reaction in his gut. "You kinda look like shit though."

Zuko snorted. "Well thanks, bud. You too."

Sokka chuckled, just a little. "Still pretty though--such a pretty face, you," he muttered before his forehead wrinkled. "How're you here?"

“I’m off work now, so I’m not going anywhere,” Zuko replied, ignoring Sokka's pain-med semi-compliment, and Sokka smiled a little more, even if his expression was a little distant.

“Are you allowed?” he asked. “I didn’t think they’d let you.”

“You know me,” Zuko said, returning the smile. “I’m a ‘fuck around and find out’ kinda guy. They’d have to physically drag me out of here if they wanted me away from you.”

Sokka gave a slow blink, still looking tired and sort of blurrily pleasant, the laxity of pain meds still in his expression. “That does sound like you, turtleduck.”

Zuko shook his head, chest tight, so goddamn full of love he could die from it. "Still the stupidest name ever," he murmured, that love bleeding right into his voice.

"I know," Sokka said with a loose smile. "S'why I like it. I like stupid shit."

"Well, you do like me quite a bit."

Sokka gave a small laugh again. "I do like you. But you're not stupid. Stupid shoes, but not you…"

Zuko squeezed his hand and, somehow, loved him even more. "Thinking about the flip flops even at a time like this?"

Sokka smiled a little again. "Might be. Not totally sure." He squeezed his hand back, a bit delayed. "But you can really stay?"

“I'm not going anywhere," Zuko replied, secure in that. "I’m here as long as you want me.”

“Good,” Sokka said simply, "then stay forever."

Zuko twitched. "Well… damn, Sokka." He tried for a smile. "Maybe I should've tried to find a chaplain."

Sokka just smiled, eyelids lowering. "Don't know what that means," he murmured, clearly with no awareness of what his declaration had done to Zuko, "but glad you're here. Glad it was you."

"Me too," Zuko replied, hoping he understood right and wishing somehow there was more he could do, more he could offer. But there was just him, in this stiff chair with bags beneath his eyes and his loud, stupid heart. "I'm with you," he promised anyway, hoping it would be enough.

Sokka nodded once. "Ok. My brain's full of clouds," he muttered, and Zuko managed a genuine smile.

"But everything hurts less?" he asked.

"Yeah, think so," Sokka replied, shutting his eyes. "That's good, right?"

Zuko stroked his hand, nodding a little. "That's good."

Sokka made a sort of nothing sound again and rubbed his thumb along Zuko's hand.

"We--uh, we should talk about making me your emergency contact," Zuko said abruptly, startling himself a little too, "so I can keep being here--just, you know, since your family’s not in town and… yeah." He trailed off, and Sokka smiled a little more, eyes still shut.

"Think I'm gonna keep gettin' the shit kicked outta me and needing you to save me?"

"Not if I can help it."

"That's good. Haven’t dealt with that since I was a dumb kid," Sokka murmured again, frowning a little now. “Dumb assholes. Who starts a fight with a grown man?” He tried to shake his head. “Who makes fun of a kid in a wheelchair? Stupid...”

Zuko tamped down the murder in his middle. 

“Well, they’re not gonna get away with it,” Zuko said, rubbing Sokka’s hand again.

Sokka made a sort of humming sound and opened his eyes just a little again, finding Zuko’s. God, Zuko would never get over the blue of them, just being pulled in like he was stepping into an ocean.

Shit, he needed sleep. 

“Sounds good,” Sokka murmured, eyes falling shut again. “Thanks, Zuko. For everything. You're… I'm glad… glad we love each other, that I get to love you.” He smiled again, small and tired. "Don't know if that even makes sense but…" 

He gave a vague sort of shrug, like Zuko's heart hadn’t just lurched in his chest at a statement like that rising out of the fog of Sokka's medicated and injured brain. 

“Oh and yeah…" Sokka added, "just give me the paperwork and you can be my emergency contact. Whatever you wanna do…"

Zuko gave a small smile, which Sokka couldn't see, and Sokka drifted back to sleep a moment later, looking peaceful and safe, even with the bruises on his face.

Zuko kept hold of his hand and held vigil, watching over him while the machines beeped and the people came and went in the hallways and the voices drifted in and out of the room. As long as possible, he ignored the heaviness in his eyelids and the ache in his limbs because Sokka deserved protecting. He hadn't lied to Song. He'd meant it all. Sokka being ok was worth anything Zuko could give.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's where I have no actual idea if any of this makes sense based on actual hospital protocol, but look at all the tenderness and affection and tell me it's not worth any inaccuracies! Also shout-outs to the real MVPS of the story - Nick and Song! Look at them go.
> 
> Thanks again, all! I'm so glad people have responded so well to this story :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka wakes up in the hospital the next morning, sore and tired and really glad Zuko's still there.

Sokka woke up fuzzy and achy and confused, pain radiating dully from his head and his lower leg, and he tried distantly to remember what had happened. It came back in bits and pieces all sort of muddled up like throwing memories in a broken kaleidoscope: the club, the glitter, the guys outside, the punches, the shouting, the curb. He groaned, shifted, and finally opened his eyes. 

His view was of ceiling, white and tiled and fluorescent, and he turned his head to look around. Machines, charts, door, window, and Zuko. That at least eased some of the worry in his chest, because Zuko was here, asleep in his work clothes with his face balanced on his right hand, his left in Sokka's. More came back then: Zuko as the EMT on the scene, his sure hands and patient questions and gentle voice. God, how had he done that? Sokka would have been freaking the hell out the whole time, but he remembered Zuko with more clarity than anything else after he'd hit his head: Zuko being steady and kind and reassuring, Zuko treating him in the ambulance, Zuko getting him into the hospital. 

Sokka smiled at the other man, ignoring the way it pulled at the scab on his lip, and simply watched him as he slept, unwilling to wake him up. 

What had he done to deserve someone so damn incredible? He was gonna start having to sort his mental folders for "Badass Zuko" moments: Badass Ninja, Badass Doctor, just regular Badass. Having new memories of him in action _almost_ made the pain running through his body worth it. Not quite, but still. He tried to parse through the memories of last night and finally just shut his eyes a moment, took a breath, focused on the grounding feel of that hand in his instead.

When Zuko finally did open his eyes, he looked for Sokka immediately, worry flashing across his face. But it cleared as soon as Sokka smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

"Good morning," Sokka said quietly, "this is the least fun way we've ever woken up together."

Zuko smiled back, his relief almost palpable in the cool, sterile-smelling hospital air.

"Agreed," he said. "How are you feeling?"

Sokka pushed himself up a little more in the bed, and Zuko adjusted to keep them together.

"Kinda like I got hit by a truck," he replied, poking at the soreness on his face. "That didn't actually happen at some point and I blanked it out, right?"

"I don't think so," Zuko replied, sitting up more too and rubbing his hair from his face, "although that might be what happens to the guys that hurt you."

Sokka gave a half smile. "Yeah, don't do that."

"You're right," Zuko replied, eyes narrowing. "Hitting them with a truck is too fast and impersonal. It's gotta be slow and they gotta know for damn sure that it's because of what they did to you."

Sokka gave a low chuckle. "Haven't really met Scary Murder Zuko before," he said, watching him with a wary appreciation.

"Well," Zuko replied, rubbing his thumb over Sokka's hand, "no one's dared to hurt someone I love this much until now."

Sokka squeezed back. "I love you too," he said. "But also please don't kill anyone and go to prison."

Zuko scoffed. "Yeah, like I'd get _caught_."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Leaving _that_ slightly terrifying statement for the time being--holy shit, you were… you were seriously amazing last night. Can we talk about that now?"

Zuko gave a crooked sort of smile. "How much do you remember?"

"Why? Did I do something stupid?"

Zuko shook his head. "Nah, you were just out of it. A concussion'll do that."

"Yeah, I remember a little of that, though my head feels clearer now," Sokka replied, squinting some. At least his headache had gone away and he didn't feel lost and scared. Speaking of which… “Wait, did I get really needy and sappy with you in the ambulance?”

Zuko gave him a soft sort of smile. “Nah. You were fine.”

Sokka watched his face, flickering over the familiar features--those tired, brown-gold eyes, the line of his nose, the shape of his lips, slightly chapped today--and remembered a little of it, even if it came through blurry. Oh, Sokka had been _hella_ weird and needy. But Zuko had been nice about it, so unfailingly sweet and understanding and kind, because of course he had. Sokka tightened his grip on Zuko's hand.

“Can we circle back to the _you being amazing_ idea?" Sokka asked.

"I just did my job."

"Your job of being _amazing_."

Zuko snorted. "You're just still full of pain meds."

"Don't care," Sokka said, sitting up a little more, "although ugh, how long am I gonna feel like this? And _shit_ , I'm not gonna have a working leg for a while, will I?"

"Probably not," Zuko replied, face a little pained, "although that's up to the doctor." He waved a hand. "Whatever happens, I'll take care of you."

Sokka grinned a little, marginally concerned by the look in Zuko's eyes. "So… is that coming from a sweet place or a threatening one?"

Zuko cocked his head, seeming to consider. "Maybe both," he admitted. "I'm not letting you get hurt again." He reached out and carefully brushed a strand of hair behind Sokka's ear. "God, I'm sorry I couldn't do more for your face…"

Sokka touched his own cheek. "Shit, is it bad?" He cocked a smile. "Have all my incredible good looks been ruined and now you'll never be attracted to me again?" 

Zuko shot him a look just as a nurse came into the room. At her approach, he lurched back and stood up immediately, but the nurse just shook her head at him with a somewhat exasperated expression. 

"You're fine," she said. "You've been asleep in here for hours, so if we were going to kick you out, we would have then."

Zuko seemed to let out a breath, and Sokka looked between them in confusion but didn't question it. Zuko sat down beside him again, safe and nearby. Sokka just focused on answering Nurse Song's questions as best he could and accepted her poking at him again, and then answering a lot of the same questions and accepting the same poking from the doctor when he came in later. It was making him sort of twitchy because he (like any sane person) didn’t like hospitals and feeling weak and out of control, but also because Zuko spent the whole time watching and prowling a little like assassins were waiting to jump out at them at any moment, as if anyone coming and going near Sokka was a threat. It was both sweetly endearing and vastly stupid to the point where he did tell Zuko to calm the hell down and sit while the doctor was casting his leg because it was making him nervous. And Zuko sat and observed and then asked questions Sokka wouldn't have thought to ask, so that at least was helpful.

Finally, Sokka had to talk to the police and explain exactly what had happened and match descriptions of the men. At that, Zuko started getting tense and growly again, like he was about ready to run out of the hospital and start throwing random punches. So Sokka found and squeezed his hand and explained as best he could until the cops finally left. It sounded like they had IDs on the suspects, but that didn’t mean Sokka had a ton of faith that much would be done about it. He could hope, sure, but mostly he was just tired. So fucking tired, and wrung out and sore and edgy. He shifted so his fingers knitted up with Zuko's, and that helped a little.

At least his part was finished then and he could learn how to use crutches and lean on Zuko and _finally_ sign discharge papers and head home. The weird chemical and antiseptic smell of the hospital had been starting to make him sort of sick, and Zuko's feral energy wasn't helping, and basically he felt like shit and just wanted to see his damn dog again and make sure Teo had actually gotten home ok last night without him. 

Zuko drove him back toward their apartments, and Sokka checked his phone, which was still alive but had a big, noticeable crack through the screen now. Eh, what else was new with him and phones? He maneuvered around the crack and texted Teo to verify he was alright.

He was, thankfully, and apparently things with Ezra/June were… progressing in a good way, sort of. Sokka would have been more happy and excited for them and asked for more details had he felt less like he was being held together with duct tape and sheer force of will. And Zuko. Zuko had to get some obvious credit for holding Sokka together. Sokka let out a breath, tried to find a more comfortable position in the passenger seat, and looked at his phone again.

There'd be time for talking to Teo more later, time to tell him what had actually happened and address what life beyond the next couple hours might look like.

"Do I tell Katara?" Sokka asked, noticing her name right there in the line of texts. He genuinely wasn’t sure what she'd do. He glanced aside at Zuko.

Zuko still stared straight ahead, face focused on the road and expression tense with worry and exhaustion.

"Up to you," he replied finally. "I still don't tell my family shit, so I'm not the best person to ask."

Sokka opted for leaving it until he was a little less bone-weary and irritable, and Zuko, as if apologize for his grumpy tone, reached out and rested a hand on Sokka’s thigh. Sokka covered it with his own hand, and they drove the rest of the way in near silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, forgive any hospital inaccuracies, my friends :) Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back at Sokka's apartment, some emotions come to a head for both Sokka and Zuko.

Zuko continued to hover even once he'd gotten Sokka up the stairs and into his apartment, which ended up being good, because Sokka certainly couldn't walk Boomerang on crutches. So Zuko clipped the leash on the eager dog and ran him outside, and Sokka dropped into his desk chair because at least it had wheels and he could maybe get by with scooting around his apartment. He leaned back, the torrent of the last twelve hours or so hitting him like a wave, and he raised a hand to his face. Remembering what Zuko had said and needing to know, he grabbed his phone and used the selfie-mode as a mirror.

Oof. That… wasn't pretty at all. He tipped his head, looking at the bruising and swelling around his eye and across the bridge of his nose, mottled and discolored even against the tone of his skin. The split lip wasn't great either, and all in all, he definitely looked like a guy who'd gotten his ass thoroughly kicked. God, and at twenty-five. What the fuck, universe? He sighed and shut his phone just as the door opened again, letting in an excited Boomerang and still slightly harried-looking Zuko.

Who, Sokka realized with a jolt, was still wearing his work clothes, which definitely had dirt and sweat and also Sokka's blood on them.

"You really gotta go home and change," Sokka announced with a small smile, which was all he could really manage without hurting his lip, as Boomerang butted at one of his hands.

Zuko stared at him and then looked down at himself like he hadn't even realized what he was wearing. 

"I…" he began, and looked nervously back up at Sokka. 

"Go home, buddy," he said gently. "I know you, so you've slept--what?--six hours in the last two days? And you  _ definitely  _ haven't had anything that wasn't liquid and caffeinated at least in the last twelve. So really." He smiled again. "Change clothes. Shower. Eat something that isn't pure caffeine. Take a long nap with your cats." He waved a hand. "I'll be fine."

There was a beat of quiet and then suddenly, unexpectedly, horrifyingly, Zuko dissolved into tears. 

"Oh--oh no!" Sokka said, shoving himself to his feet (well, one foot) as Zuko covered his face. "Oh god, what's happening?"

He took one hop closer to him, reaching out, because after all the crazy shit they'd shared, Sokka realized he had never actually seen Zuko  _ cry _ . Get close to tears or glassy-eyed or misty, sure, but not full, hiding his face, shoulders shaking,  _ crying _ . Thankfully, Sokka didn't have to do more than that one hop because then Zuko was across the room and wrapping his arms almost strangling tight around him. He pressed his wet face into the side of Sokka’s neck and  _ clung _ , gripping like he thought Sokka might disappear or turn to smoke in his hands. 

Sokka put his arms around him and held on too, leaning some of his weight into Zuko even as his shoulders shook.

"Ok… you don't  _ have _ to go home if you're that upset about it," Sokka tried to joke. 

"I could have  _ lost _ you," Zuko said into his neck, voice thick and one hand moving to hold the base of Sokka’s skull as he continued to shake in his arms. "My god, Sokka, when I saw you on the ground bleeding and confused and hurt and I--I…"

"Oh, oh Zuko, baby..." Sokka said, rubbing his back and realizing just how long Zuko had been holding this in so he could do his job and take care of him. It made his chest ache, but he could at least hold on to him now too. "I'm ok. It's all ok now. You were amazing. You got me through it. We're home and it's ok."

Zuko was still crying and holding on to him with that sort of death grip, everything clearly crashing through him all at once too. Sokka rubbed his back again.

"I can't lose you," Zuko said brokenly. "I _can't_ …" He held on, knotting his hands into Sokka's shirt and pulling as much of them together as possible. "You are _everything_ good in this shit world to me," he continued, voice breaking, " _everything_ , Sokka, and you were _hurting_ so much and I--" He was choked off again by more tears.

Sokka felt them prickling in his own eyes too, which stung a bit on the swelling. But he kept holding on, kept running his hand up and down Zuko's back, kept their bodies tucked together as much as possible.

“Zuko…" Sokka whispered, brain still spiraling a little at the intensity of a sobbing Zuko in his arms, "I'm right here, ok? I'm here. I'm not going anywhere, and god, you're so sweet and I love you so much, but we got through it. I'm ok now."

"But seeing you like that… what if no one had been there?" Zuko continued. "What if no one had called? What if there hadn't been--"

"Hey, hey, don't do that," Sokka said immediately. "You can't do that to yourself, love, you can’t." He ran a hand up into Zuko's hair. "I'm  _ here _ \--all treated and patched up. You took care of me. That's all that matters." He rubbed gently at his slightly sweaty hair. "You know me--I'll bounce right back. The universe can't get rid of me  _ that _ easily. I promise." 

Zuko continued to cling for a while longer, taking shaky breaths, and then rubbed his face against Sokka's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he said, sniffling. "You're right. God, this is embarrassing …"

"No!" Sokka replied. "No, it's ok! Oh my god, this has all been a shit storm and you can totally cry if you need to!" He massaged Zuko's scalp again. "You held it in and took care of me all night! You could cry for the next three days and I wouldn't stop you."

Zuko grunted something like a laugh into his shoulder.

"We both can, if you want--if that would make you feel better!" Sokka offered. "Put on that '90s  _ Homeward Bound _ movie and I'll be blubbering like a baby in no time."

Zuko made a sound closer to a laugh this time and drew back, rubbing a hand across his eyes. " _ Homeward Bound _ , huh?"

"Oh my god, the part where Shadow falls in the hole and says he's too old to keep going?" Sokka said, reaching out to stroke the tears away from under Zuko's eyes. "Then later when the music swells and he appears over the hill and keeps saying 'Peter' because he loves his human so much? Full meltdown, buddy. I could sob for  _ hours  _ just thinking about it."

Zuko sniffed through a smile. "You're so weird and I love you so much," he murmured.

"I love you too," Sokka replied, stroking his face again, the lines under his eyes and the slickness of tears, "and you don't have to go home if you really don't want to, but... you do have to stop wearing clothes that have my literal blood on them."

Zuko stepped back a little and looked down at himself again.

"That's--yeah that makes sense," he admitted, scuffing a hand roughly through his hair. "Fucking god, what a night."

"Yeah…" Sokka agreed, reaching for his crutches again, "let's both get some new clothes."

Sokka's pants, even the sweatpants, did run a little short on Zuko's legs and had to be tied tight around his waist, and the old college t-shirt Zuko borrowed was a little big too. But at least he was in comfortable clothes and he could then help Sokka get into different clothes also, which took a bit of balancing and finagling and muttered swearing. But god, it felt good to be in something comfortable, feel more like himself again. 

"Do you need anything else?" Zuko asked, hands on both of Sokka's shoulders and eyes intense. "Water? Food? Meds?"

"You," Sokka said immediately. "I just need you--and, well, maybe my dog."

"I can do that," Zuko said quickly, sitting Sokka down on the bed and then heading into the living room.

To Sokka's amusement, he returned  _ carrying _ Boomerang, who as an almost fifty-pound dog, was not used to being scooped. Zuko set him on the bed beside Sokka, and the poor dog looked a little bewildered but seemed happy to be up on the big comfy place with his person. Sokka quickly buried both hands in the soft, thick fur around Boomerang's neck, soothed a little more. He received a lick on the nose for his efforts while Boomerang's wagging tail rustled the blanket. Then Sokka looked up at Zuko, still lingering near the bed in his borrowed clothes, expression a little lost.

"What's going on, babe?" Sokka asked, smiling at him, which still kind of hurt his face, but it was worth it. 

"I don't…" Zuko said, voice breaking a little, "I don't know what to do."

Sokka extended a hand.

"You come here," he said with a beckoning motion, "and you cuddle with me and this dog, and you get some damn rest."

Zuko let out a breath. "You're sure you don't need anything else? I could go and--"

"Zuko," Sokka said shortly, "get your fine ass over here."

And finally Zuko climbed into his bed, and they tugged on the blankets and adjusted the dog and settled into the pillows. Sokka stroked a very content doggy donut with one hand, which Boomerang occasionally licked, and Zuko shifted to pull Sokka's back into his chest and curl himself around him, holding tight. 

"You'd tell me if there was anything I could do?" he asked into Sokka's hair. "Or if you knew anything more about those guys I'm gonna murder?"

Sokka chuckled and fit their hands together, although the other he kept in the familiar comfort of Boomerang's fur.

"I'd tell you if I needed something," Sokka conceded, "but no, I'm not supporting your homicidal tendencies." He snuggled back against him more. "So how long should I be expecting Ultra Protective/Scary Murder Zuko? Just so I can be prepared in case I have to lie to get you an alibi or something."

Zuko pressed kisses to the back of his neck and cuddled him even closer, and Sokka did feel supremely warm and safe and maybe just a little bit smothered. But he wasn't about to complain. Not now.

"At least until the cast comes off and the guys get convicted," Zuko replied finally.

"That's a long time," Sokka grunted, stroking Zuko's hand.

"It might be longer," Zuko admitted with no hesitation and not even a hint of shame about it. "But... I guess I won't  _ actually  _ murder anyone--not premeditated at least."

"Thank you," Sokka said with a chuckle. "I realize that's quite a sacrifice for you."

"No promises if I run into them in a dark alley, though," Zuko said, kissing under his ear and making Sokka shiver a little.

"If the opportunity presents itself, you twist as many shoulders as you need to, babe," Sokka replied, smiling. "But for now will you actually rest?"

Zuko sighed, breath brushing warm against the back of Sokka's neck. 

"Fine. Yes. I'll rest. As long--" his voice went a bit tight again, "as long as I can keep holding you."

Sokka smiled to himself.

"You better," he murmured in response, and he thought he felt Zuko smile back.

Then he snuggled down into the pillow and felt the warm, steady breath of the dog in front of him and the man behind him, and for the moment just let himself be held.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone else feel personally victimized by the 90s Homeward Bound? No? Just me?
> 
> Also, when I realized Zuko really had never cried in this series (not full on crying, like Sokka says), I knew the emotions had to come to a breaking point sometime. And of course it would be over his love and concern for Sokka, so here we are. Our poor, sleep-deprived, high-stress, off-their-ass-in-love boys. More emotions and cuddles and concern (and stupid arguing leading to relationship development bc they are still disaster bis after all) in our last two chapters.
> 
> As always, thanks to everyone for reading, kudos-ing, and commenting! And just because I may not have said it for a bit, if you ever wanna chat further, feel free to hit me up on tumblr at onmyliteraturebullshitagain :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Proof that you can love your boyfriend and also find him super annoying all at once, i.e. Sokka is bad at being injured and having to take it easy and Zuko is bad at chilling the hell out.

Zuko knew he was being overprotective. Even with a fractured leg and bruised ribs and a banged up face, Sokka was still more capable than most people. If anything, it had just empowered his mad scientist side, which had him cobbling together gadgets to make it easier to work and shower and take care of his dog. Teo, who felt horribly guilty once he found out what had happened, helped too. He's come over basically as soon as he'd heard, bringing with him some "Get Well Soon" balloons and a lapful of mobility devices. He actually audibly gasped when he saw Sokka's face.

"Yeah, well," Sokka offered, gesturing at it, "you know the first rule of Fight Club."

Zuko rolled his eyes and watched as the two went through the strange experimental devices his dad had made to help out Teo’s own mobility limitations. They talked excitedly, and Sokka immediately started fiddling with ways to make them work better for him, and Zuko tried to reassure himself that this was a good thing. Between the three of them, Sokka was doing just fine taking care of himself

Except that Sokka also had an incurable chaotic child energy, which was where Zuko's overprotectiveness came in. Basically, he was fucking terrified every time Sokka started pushing himself around in his office chair or leaving his crutches and just hopping to the kitchen or throwing things to shut off lights instead of getting up. And that didn't even account for the regular Sokka life dangers that seemed to just constantly linger around someone like him. Basically, he was gonna hurt himself worse. He was gonna burn down his apartment. He was gonna give Zuko an ulcer.

So Zuko hadn't actually stayed at his own apartment for more than maybe an hour at a time in about two weeks and was really only away from Sokka otherwise to work. And he'd even managed to limit _those_ hours with the help of Nick, to whom he owed about a hundred favors. Otherwise, Zuko ducked down to grab clothes and take care of the cats every so often after he'd smuggled his laptop and toothbrush and phone charger up to Sokka's apartment. It made it easier for him to keep up with Sokka's pain med schedule and to force him to eat healthy food and actually rest and elevate his leg. Sokka, of course, whined and argued and made stupid jokes every chance he got, but he did begrudgingly let Zuko take care of him. At least for the first week or so. Maybe the accidental sobbing breakdown (which, good god, Zuko hadn't cried like that since he was a kid) had made him realize just how much Zuko cared and needed to take care of him. Maybe he actually wanted the help but couldn't admit it. Maybe he just liked and tolerated Zuko enough to put up with the treatment for the time being.

Whatever the reason he tolerated Zuko being a fussy pain in the ass, his EMT and doctor jokes had just gotten worse and more frequent and more pointed: "when the ambulance goes extra fast, is it going at _fixneck_ speed?" "Too bad my arms not what got broken--that would have been much more _humerus?_ " "How many doctors does it take to change a light bulb? Depends on whether the bulb's got good health insurance."

"Sokka, I will kill you for real," Zuko said after the last one, knowing full well his threats meant nothing in the face of a bored, medicated Sokka who thought he was hilarious.

Which was proven by Sokka simply saying, "You know, you only ever see EMTs working two at a time--call it a," finger guns and a pleased smile, " _pair-a-docs_."

By the time they were getting into the second week, though, even his sense of humor started running thin. He was getting increasingly irritable and snappish and stir crazy, which made sense to a certain degree even if it still made Zuko feel a bit bad. Sokka was used to taking his dog on long walks and going to the gym and doing things that involved having two legs. He’d even been exclusively working from home for the time being (“Do I really want to explain to Debbie in HR that I got hate crimed after a drag show?” he’d asked rhetorically while flopped backwards on his bed, "yeah, I’m gonna pass."). So he’d been mostly holed up, which Zuko already knew from experiences over the winter was _not_ good for the Sokka mental state.

He’d also finally told Katara, who'd lost her mind and was about two minutes away from getting in her car and driving right up there to take care of him and maybe kill someone (both impulses that Zuko could understand and appreciate but also wanted to deter). Sokka had put Zuko on the phone with her.

“Please tell her I’ve already got one nurse and don’t need another one,” Sokka said tiredly.

“Oh I’ve been downgraded to ‘nurse’ now, have I?” Zuko said, but accepted the phone where Katara was still audibly yelling.

“--how you’re gonna take care of yourself like that, but when I get there, I swear I’ll make sure you're actually resting the amount you're supposed to and--"

“Um, hey, Katara? Yeah, it’s Zuko,” he said into the phone, which did at least stop the torrent of words. “He’s ok here, really. I’m taking care of him.”

“Still!” Katara said. “You know him! He needs someone to stay with him or he’ll go nuts and do something stupid, so I really should--”

Feeling the oncoming storm again, Zuko headed her off. 

“I’m staying with him,” he said. “I won’t let anything happen to him, not again, ok?”

Katara finally quieted through the phone.

“He did tell me what you did for him, how you handled it,” she said softly.

“I just did my job,” Zuko replied, shaking his head, and Katara made a noise through the phone sort of like a laugh.

“He’s really lucky to have you,” she said, “and I guess I trust that you can keep track of him for now. I’m still coming to visit, though!” she added, almost sharply. “Just maybe not… this exact second.”

“I’m sure he’d be happy to see you anytime,” Zuko said, “and seriously, I can even send you daily updates on his progress if you want.”

Sokka sighed loudly and dramatically from beside him, which Katara clearly heard and laughed at through the phone.

“See? He loves that idea,” Zuko told her, and Sokka elbowed him in the side. That didn’t stop Zuko, though, from scooting away and snapping a quick picture of Sokka which he immediately sent to Katara, who then started screeching through the phone again.

So that one was on Zuko, at the end of the day.

But other than interactions like that, there wasn’t a lot that could be done for Sokka’s annoyance and edginess. For the time being, Zuko tried to find things for him to do and tried not to be _too_ much of a caretaker instead of a boyfriend. At least Teo was more than happy to come over and play cards or help him make up activities for Boomerang even in the apartment. He even brought Ezra at one point, and Zuko suddenly understood Sokka's comment about them as "younger, stupid" them bases entirely on furtive glances and a lot of smiling and blushing and sitting just slightly too close together. But Sokka brightened at having people around again, which was what mattered. 

It seemed good at first that Katara also called far more frequently, as did Hakoda and Gran Gran. But all of them were worried for Sokka’s well-being and wouldn't stop pestering him or pitying him, which he obviously hated. He occasionally griped to Zuko about it or yanked him down into bed to cuddle back against his chest, pressing kisses to the back and sides of his neck. Zuko would chuckle and let Sokka be the big spoon, let him be the one to shelter and hold for a while.

“Being injured doesn’t make you less capable, you know,” Zuko murmured as Sokka tucked his face into Zuko’s shoulder and locked his hand around his waist. “People just love you and want you to be ok.”

“I know that,” Sokka grumbled, nuzzling into his neck. “I’m just… I’m not a _baby_.”

“Obviously,” Zuko replied, reaching overhead to scratch his nails against Sokka’s scalp in a way that made him give a contented sigh. “It’s just… as my uncle would say, there’s nothing wrong with letting people who love you help you.”

“Ugh,” Sokka grumbled and moved to slide his hand up the inside of Zuko’s shirt. “How about I help _you_ for a bit?”

“Keep it in your pants, Sokka,” Zuko chuckled.

“But _why_ ,” Sokka whined, “when I could get in your pants instead?"

Zuko rolled over to face him, which made Sokka grumble again, but he stopped making noises as soon as Zuko kissed him. He was careful with the kisses, though, avoiding the still healing cuts on his face.

“I’m not _that_ fragile,” Sokka murmured, working a hand up into Zuko’s hair.

Zuko ignored him and kept his kisses soft and his legs carefully away from Sokka’s cast.

It did get to a point where Sokka insisted, loudly and dramatically, that he wasn’t staying in his apartment for another minute, so if they were getting groceries, he was coming with, damn it. Zuko sighed and accepted, recognizing full-tilt stubborn Sokka when he saw it. However, once they were there, Zuko also recognized the looks. People had definitely noticed Sokka’s poor, multi-colored face in its stages of healing. That, paired with Zuko's differently multi-colored, fully healed face, led to those sorts of awkward, concerned glances Zuko had gotten far too used to in his life. Zuko had had to adjust with time to the looking-not-looking glances and the hovering gaze on the side of his face instead of his eyes. By now, he knew how to ignore it and just live his life. But it was new for Sokka, and awkward, and uncomfortable, and impossible to ignore.

He got back to the apartment irritable and sore from being on his feet and using the crutches so long and being looked at. Zuko kept an eye on him as they unloaded, and he was worryingly quiet. There were no snippy comments or jokes, no casual touches or sly smiles. His face was drawn, forehead furrowed. He finally gave up even trying to maneuver awkwardly around the kitchen and went to his bedroom. Zuko let him, although he did bring him water and his pain meds a little later.

"I'm sick of meds," Sokka had grumbled even as he took them. 

"Should I hide them in cheese like you're Boomerang?" Zuko said with a bit of a smile, which Sokka at least returned a little. 

"Maybe," Sokka replied, rubbing his hands carefully over his face.

“You ok?” Zuko asked, setting the glass aside and sitting on the bed near him. "You seem… upset."

"Yeah because I fucking _am_ ," Sokka snapped, which caused Zuko to raise his eyebrow in surprise. 

Sokka sighed. "Sorry. That was… Yeah. It's-- I'm fine."

"Sokka…" Zuko tried, but Sokka waved him off, face closing over again in that way Zuko hated. The 'no more emotions' Sokka face that was all stiff lines and eyes that wouldn't look at him.

"I think I'm gonna nap," Sokka said. "At least I can still do that."

He lay down on his side, rolled away from Zuko, and pulled up the blankets. Zuko moved to let him but very intentionally didn't help. He did sit down by him again, though, once Sokka was settled, and stroked the hair away from his face. 

Sokka didn't ask him to stay or leave, his eyes shut and his shoulders still tense. So Zuko sat for a while beside him just stroking his hair. Sokka had nice hair, thick and loose above the shaved down sides, and he sometimes made this pleasant grumbling sigh at having it played with. There was no sigh this time, although he did shut his eyes and finally relax a little more. And that was good. He needed to heal. He needed to be ok again. Zuko reached for his secret weapon and moved to rub Sokka's ear, which immediately took more tension out of his neck again.

Thank Uncle for making him learn some acupressure. Zuko kept rubbing over the shape of his ear, listening to Sokka breathe, knowing he was doing it again. Standing guard. Being overprotective. But he couldn't stop it, not entirely.

"Thanks," Sokka murmured, barely audibly, and Zuko allowed himself a thin smile.

Sokka was gonna be ok. Zuko was gonna make sure of it.

Zuko was on one of those rare stays in his own apartment and giving some attention to his pair of annoyed cats when he heard the crash from upstairs. Previous to that, he'd been dealing with Dragon being needy and crying and winding between his legs and Lucky sitting on the other side of the room with his back to Zuko and his ears down so it was clear he was mad at him (but not mad enough, obviously, to actually leave the room). Basically, they were both being obnoxious, but Zuko _did_ love and miss his pair of furry bastards. He tried to tell them this as he refilled their water and food, but that was when the crash upstairs happened. 

He was out and up the stairs in a moment, hoping belatedly that he'd actually shut his front door behind him or he'd be chasing down two cats. Then he threw open Sokka's door without knocking to find him tipped over in his office chair, on his back with his legs in the air, attempting to right himself while dealing with Boomerang licking his face in concern.

"I was gone for ten minutes!" Zuko yelled as he strode over to help get Sokka up. 

Sokka caught his arm, and together they got him and the chair upright again, but Sokka still looked annoyed.

"What were you even trying to do?" Zuko demanded.

"I just wanna be able to get to my own damn kitchen!" Sokka snapped. "It's ridiculous! I should be able to get some damn water for myself!"

"You couldn't wait a couple more minutes for me?" Zuko replied, realizing only belatedly how he was coming off.

Sokka groaned. "Fuck's sake, I don't need you to do everything for me!"

"Sokka, I swear to god if you hurt yourself..." Zuko began, and Sokka glared at him, which was extra viscous looking with the yellowing bruises still around his eye.

"You'll, what? Somehow nanny me even more?" he snapped, and Zuko frowned at him.

"I'm just _trying_ to--"

"Drive me insane?" Sokka interrupted, looking in many ways like a pissy child. "Because if that's the goal, dude, well done."

Zuko rolled his eyes, irritation taking over reason. "You're just being a brat because you can't do whatever you want all the time," he replied, only noticing the frustration and stress cutting through his voice after the fact. "God forbid you have to think for _half a second_ \--"

Sokka stared at him. "I'm being a _brat_?" he repeated.

"Yes!" Zuko replied, crossing his arms and now, apparently, being equally childish. So that was where they were at. Great. Very productive.

"Well then you're being an annoying _babysitter_!" Sokka announced. "I'm a grown-ass-man!"

Zuko snorted. "A grown-ass-man falling over in a wheely chair."

Sokka wrinkled his nose at him. "Well if I'm such a pain in the ass, you could go back to your apartment, couldn't you?"

"You _just_ proved why I can't!" Zuko replied, gesturing at him a little wildly. "I clearly can't even trust you alone for ten goddamn minutes!"

"So you're just gonna live here forever?" Sokka argued, all levels of snippy and petulant now, and Zuko just glared at him. "Just be my constant live-in nanny?"

"Maybe I will!" Zuko barked. "Think you could stop me?"

"Seriously?" Sokka replied, forehead furrowing. "What, you'll just start sneaking your stuff upstairs and hope I don't notice?"

"Why not?" Zuko replied, glaring. "I don't have that much stuff anyway!"

Sokka scoffed. "God, sometimes you're such a--"

"Oh don't start with me," Zuko snapped back. "You think I couldn't move in here if I wanted to? Please."

"Oh yeah, like I'd never notice a bunch of cats invading my apartment!" Sokka said, spreading his hands.

"There are _two_ cats!" Zuko barked back. "And I already hide one from the apartments--you think I couldn't hide them from _you_ too? How hard could it be?"

"Wow…" Sokka groaned with an exaggerated eye roll. "So I'm a brat and now I'm _stupid_ , huh? _So_ glad you're dedicated to harassing me."

"You'd be _lost_ without me," Zuko replied, shifting his stance and squaring his shoulders. "Don't even _pretend_ you'd be fine without me here making sure you didn't kill yourself like the chaos trainwreck you are!"

"I obviously survived before you!" Sokka yelled. "So I don't need you on top of me every second, do I?"

Zuko let out a sharp laugh. "You've _certainly_ never complained about me being on top of you before."

Sokka blinked at him once, actually looking surprised, and Zuko allowed himself a smug smile. Sokka, in turn, just scowled.

"Don't you start pretending you're not just as much a slutty switch as I am, pal," Sokka replied with a quick point at him. "Just because you've gotten some superiority complex from taking care of me--"

" _Superiority complex_ \--"

"--doesn't mean you've changed! And let's _not_ forget," Sokka said over him, "who's going full octopus around who in his sleep, because it's sure as hell not me!"

Zuko threw up his hands. "You cuddle me _just_ as much, you giant liar. And that's _hardly_ the issue here."

"Well then what _is_ the issue, huh?" Sokka grunted, still glaring. 

"The _issue_ is--" Zuko began and then realized he really didn't know what they were arguing about at this point except that Sokka was restless and in pain and Zuko was annoyed and worried and in his perpetual state of exhaustion. And somehow they'd started yelling about insanely stupid things and now they couldn't stop.

"The issue is you being stubborn," he finally decided, "and not just getting over your bullshit and letting other people help you when you need it!"

"Ok, so let me be sure I've got this right." Sokka counted out on his fingers with mock seriousness. "I'm a brat, I'm stupid, and now i'm stubborn and full of bullshit. God, thanks. You're right! What would I _possibly_ do without you?"

"We both know you're not stupid," Zuko said immediately, because he did feel a little bad about that implication.

"But the rest is true?" Sokka gave a mocking sort of laugh. "Wow, you've really--"

"Ugh, can you stop being _infuriating_ for five damn minutes?" Zuko snapped. "You know that's not what I meant! I'm just trying to keep you _safe_. Why is that so hard to understand?"

"I'm not made of glass!"

"No, you're made of bones and muscles and organs, all of which are _breakable._ "

Sokka groaned loudly and dropped his head back on his chair. "Oh my _god_ you're being dramatic--"

" _I'm_ being dramatic!"

"--so if I'm that damn frustrating, just leave me alone and go _home_!"

"No!" Zuko shouted back, being, admittedly, a little dramatic, but his mouth was still going anyway, "because my home is with _you,_ damn it! Wherever you are, that's home for me now! That's where everything I love is so that's where I wanna stay, you _frustrating_ , _childish,_ _dickhead_!" he finished with a few aggressive jabs of his hand. "So you're just gonna have to deal with it!” 

Sokka paused, expression changing abruptly as Zuko still stood there glowering. 

"Wait... really?" Sokka asked in a completely changed tone, the anger gone from his face as quickly as it had come on.

"Really what?" Zuko replied, frowning again, because he'd lost the thread of his argument far more times than he'd like to admit considering he was still engaged in it.

"You…" Sokka said slowly, "you think of me as your home? That…" something soft came into expression and his voice as he smiled, "that everything you love is here with me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It wouldn't be Midwest Zukka without stupid yelling :) But don't worry, they also resolve it in true Midwest Zukka fashion next chapter.
> 
> Also, there is now amazing art of the end of this argument by capt-snoozles on tumblr: [The EMT comic](https://capt-snoozles.tumblr.com/post/643114046413045760/for-some-reason-i-havent-been-able-to-stop)
> 
> Thanks again all for reading, kudos-ing, and commenting!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Decisions are made and the drama comes to a happy conclusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... the boys decided part of the "comfort" here was going at it, so if you wanna skim or skip over some implied sexy time, it starts with "Zuko could hardly stand it..." and ends with "Afterward...". Nothing explicit again but still.

Zuko's brain finally caught up to the shouting--see  _ this _ was why he tried to do that less--and realized that, yes, he had just told Sokka, while simultaneously insulting him, that he was home for Zuko now. That basically when Zuko made a “top ten” of the things he loved most in the world, Sokka was, in some way or another, numbers one through six. He couldn't pinpoint when it had happened, any particular day or moment or event. But it was true nonetheless. At some point, "home" had just stopped meaning his apartment or his Uncle's place or anywhere else literal and had turned into "wherever that blue-eyed idiot that I love is."

He chewed his lower lip and watched Sokka's face, stomach going tight.

"Yeah…" he admitted. "Yeah, ok?" He crossed his arms again and frowned. "Why? You wanna yell at me for that now too?"

Sokka put up his hands immediately, offering surrender. 

"No, no more yelling," he said and gave a slim smile. "I'm sorry. I was just--well, being a dickhead. Like you said."

Zuko let his arms uncross after a second. "Yeah, well…" he rubbed the back of his head, "me too. I'm sorry for yelling. And being an asshole." He frowned. "See, this is why I don't let myself yell as much anymore."

"Because you won't stop?" Sokka said with an uptick of an eyebrow that matched his almost smirk. "And you'll come up with really weirdly creative insults? Good vocabulary, by the way." His smirk was growing. "I'm remembering 'infuriating' and 'chaos trainwreck,' which, wow. And then that final punch of--what was it?--annoying, childish, dickhead?" 

Zuko felt himself color. "Um, something like that."

"Also," Sokka said with a quick, excited hand gesture, "did you make a  _ top pun _ in the middle of an argument?"

The blush was clearly deepening, but he had to admit that he likes the amusement on Sokka's face a lot better than the anger and frustration of the last few days.

"Guess you're rubbing off on me," Zuko replied, "but seriously, I'm sorry for the insults. And the yelling. And, you know, all of that."

Sokka waved a hand dismissively, expression going thoughtful.

"Actually," he said, eyebrows raising as he looked at Zuko again, "I'm replaying some more of that conversation now. Was there a part where you said you'd be cool with  _ moving in with me _ ?"

Well, shit, had Zuko said that?

Oh fuck, he totally had. 

"Uh…" he began. "Maybe?"

"Maybe," Sokka repeated, grinning more. "You'd  _ maybe _ be cool sneaking your stuff up into my apartment and staying here to take care of me?”

Zuko watched him. “Maybe I would,” he replied, a little warily.

“So you’d  _ maybe _ ,” Sokka pressed, “want to move in together?"

Zuko watched his face, nervousness twisting in his gut.

"You'd  _ maybe _ ," Sokka continued, still smiling, "wanna share an apartment and a bed and everything else with me? Throw together all our mismatched kitchen crap? Buy new furniture and share the rent and argue about who has to do the dishes?" He cocked an eyebrow, looking almost annoyingly pleased with himself. "You know,  _ live together _ , live together?"

Zuko shifted his weight. "Well…” he said slowly as he tried to process and recover from the whiplash in the conversation, “you  _ clearly  _ need someone watching out for you.”

Sokka chuckled. “Sure. So…?" he pressed.

"And I mean…" Zuko said, considering even as he spoke, "we already spend most nights just in one person's apartment anyway..."

"Uh huh," Sokka said, watching him now with an oddly eager expression. 

"And, well…" Zuko scratched the side of his face, "it'd save on rent."

"Definitely."

"And make it easier for me to make sure you're taking your meds and eating actual food."

"Because clearly," Sokka said, leaning back in his chair and giving a teasing smile, "I'm a stubborn brat who needs a lot of care."

Zuko sighed and rubbed his forehead. "How many more apologies you gonna need to get past this?"

Sokka shrugged, still grinning. "I think we're good. I mean, it probably wasn't wrong, but anyway," he propped his elbow on the arm of the chair and his chin in his palm, "you should go back to explaining so eloquently why we should live together. I liked that bit a lot better."

Zuko glared at him again. "Don't put it all on me! I just--I don't--do  _ you _ wanna live together?"

"Hmm… do I want," Sokka said with mock seriousness and a tap to his chin, "to get to wake up every morning to the person I love and argue with him about stupid shit all the time and watch our pets cuddle and get to come home to him every night?" He met Zuko's eyes again. "Yes, Zuko, what the hell do you think?"

"Oh," Zuko said, staring at him and feeling his heart thumping loudly in his chest. "Really?"

"What do you mean 'really'?" Sokka said with a laugh, and Zuko loved watching his face. Even through the bruises, it was still constantly expressive, constantly honest, constantly a little overwhelming with feeling. And right now, it was absolutely, beamingly certain. "You're  _ my _ home too now. You have been for a while, love."

"So you've… actually thought about this?" Zuko asked, still scrambling a little, especially because every time Sokka called him something like 'love,' some part of his brain just turned into a glowing, happy puddle instead of continuing to do its actual job.

"Kinda?" Sokka replied with a smile. "I mean, I do like having you here, and even with all the bullshit with the leg and all that, I really do feel better whenever you're around." His eyes went soft. "And I mean, it's one floor,  _ and  _ you're my best friend, and, you know, also everything else to me."

Zuko twisted his hands in front of him. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Sokka replied, voice even more secure. "So basically,  _ of course _ I'd like to actually live with you. And come on," he shrugged, "we halfway live together already, and it'd be  _ way _ more fun to always have you here for real."

Zuko allowed himself a tentative smile, already thinking of the hundreds of ways this could crash and burn and ruin everything. It was too soon. Zuko was too difficult. They were too different. They were too similar. They weren't good enough together. 

But he took a breath and let those thoughts subside. They could mutter, but he stopped letting them take over. He was learning not to listen to those doubting voices quite as much anymore, the ones that constantly murmured that he was broken and destined to ruin things and that good things in his life always got taken away. At least it was getting just a little easier with time to ignore them.

It also helped that Sokka's voice was always so much louder.

"Then let's do it," he said, smiling a little more. "Let's share a place, you and me."

"Yes! Roommate Boyfriend!" Sokka announced and opened his arms. "Now I wanna kiss you, but I'm a pathetic invalid, so you'll have to do the leg work."

Zuko took a few steps forward. "Was that a pun?"

"Obviously," Sokka replied. "Now kiss me before we start arguing again."

Zuko rolled his eyes but bent down, caught Sokka's face in his hands, and kissed him. And as Sokka's hands came up to loop around the back of his neck, it really did feel like being home. He sighed into it, something easing within him in a way it hadn't in weeks.

"God I've missed kissing you," Sokka murmured.

"We've still been kissing."

"Not like  _ this, _ " Sokka argued, and Zuko had to agree. It felt good, right, better to kiss and touch him again, Sokka's tongue teasing the edge of his lips, his nails at Zuko's hairline.

"So," Zuko ventured when they drew apart for a moment, "when--how are we doing this? Am I actually sneaking my stuff upstairs?"

"Well," Sokka said with a smile and reached down to knock on his cast, "I'm sure as hell not moving anything right now."

"Right. So we should figure this out," Zuko said, trying to be practical as he looked down at Sokka again.

Sokka was watching him with those beautiful, emotive eyes and his handsome, banged-up face, and was so much more than Zuko had ever imagined he could have.

God, Zuko loved this stupid, brilliant, ridiculous man, and the last time he'd really touched him had been in the back of an  _ ambulance _ . 

That wasn't acceptable at all. Damn, he was sick of being practical. No wonder they'd started yelling.

"Fuck it," he said, grabbed Sokka's face, and kissed him again, harder this time. "We can figure it out later, because right now…" 

He let his hands slide up into Sokka's hair as he kissed him again, savoring Sokka's eager response. 

"God, because right now I just wanna take you to bed and make you feel so damn good that you forget your own fucking name," Zuko finished, all lips and breath and tongue. "As long as that's ok with you?"

Sokka actually twitched at that and smiled into the kiss.

"See  _ that's _ where your creative language needs to go," Sokka replied, clearly not complaining about this plan as he rubbed his hands along Zuko's neck. "Because god yes.  _ Please _ take me to bed. It's been way too fucking long."

"Am I carrying you or pushing the wheely chair?" Zuko teased, smiling through the continued kisses. 

"Don't start getting sassy with me now, roomie," Sokka replied.

Zuko did end up carrying him to bed, which was a bit of a feat, but they were stubborn and stupid in love and then stubborn a bit more (and horny, which was definitely ample motivation). And at least this way, Zuko got to have his arms around Sokka's middle, Sokka's legs around his waist, hands in his hair, mouth already moving over Zuko's face and neck. Once they got to the bedroom, he set Sokka down, still careful about keeping him balanced. Then there was quite a bit of awkward laughter and scrambling as they tried to get their clothes off while leaning on each other and keep the amorous vibe going at the same time. Shirts were thrown around and pants kicked away, the door was shut to keep out a whining Boomerang, and Zuko couldn't touch everything quickly enough, couldn't press enough kisses to Sokka's skin. That lush, gorgeous skin: the jawline rough with stubble, the hollow above his collarbone, the curves and lines of the muscles in his shoulder and his chest. God, how was he even real? How was Zuko allowed to lick into that hollow, run his hands over that chest, be rewarded with Sokka's voice in his ear? But he was, and Sokka gasped and leaned into him and was  _ here _ . Was Zuko's somehow, and safe and home and loving him too. 

Sokka flinched, just barely, as Zuko ran his hands down his sides, and he halted immediately, looking him over. The bruising on the one side of his ribs. Right. Zuko ran his fingers carefully over the mottled colors there, up and down over the dips and rises of each rib. Without meaning to, he checked Sokka's face for pain as he did so. He was right back in work mode again, assessing damage, considering solutions.

Sokka took hold of his hand, lifted it from his side and brought it to his lips, and Zuko followed that movement with his eyes. He looked at Sokka's face, chest tight, but Sokka's gaze was sure, even through the slowly healing injuries. He knew somehow what was happening in Zuko's brain. He always knew Zuko so well.

"I'm ok," Sokka said softly, dropping more kisses on Zuko's knuckles, turning his hand over to lay kisses on his fingers too, and each one sent shivers over Zuko's skin. 

Zuko watched him, stomach in knots, each press of those lips against his skin like a tiny spark.

"You sweet, wonderful man," Sokka murmured. "My whole damn heart."

Zuko felt a jolt of recognition. 

"You remember the ambulance," he said quietly, sure he was flushing a little. God he'd let himself get emotional in that situation. Just... full melodrama.

"Yeah, I do," Sokka replied, smiling a little. "Or, really, I remember  _ you _ ." He lay a kiss on Zuko's palm. "Your voice and your hands and your face." Another kiss, another brush of hot breath. "I remember how goddamn much you love me."

Zuko swallowed. It was overwhelming, the move from worry, to yelling, to excitement, to arousal, to… whatever this was. This thing turning Zuko inside out.

"Feeling romantic, are we?" he tried to tease, and Sokka just kissed his hand again. 

"Maybe I am," he replied with a bit of a smile. "Maybe I just wanna get rid of that worry-furrow on your face."

Zuko felt himself furrowing more, although for different reasons now

"Listen to me, Zuko," Sokka murmured, and Zuko twitched a little at hearing his name, at the firmness of Sokka's voice.

Sokka moves to rest Zuko's hand back on the bruises on his ribs, eyes not moving away. "I'm ok. I'm good." He smiled again. "I've got you, remember?"

Zuko could hardly stand it, being loved this way. He wrapped his arms around Sokka's waist, still a little careful, and pulled him close. There was no way to get close enough, to express it all enough. He moved them toward the bed, lay Sokka back and hovered over him, needing him. Needing those hands and lips and the warm, safe shape of that body laid out beneath him. He stroked up his bare chest, down over his hips and thighs, laying kisses anywhere he found, enjoying the way Sokka shuddered at his touch. Sokka responded in kind, fingertips soft as they grasped at his hair, down his neck, over his back. Zuko pressed kisses to the bruising on his face, his eyelids, his jaw, and then worked down his body too, his collarbones, his ribs, his stomach. Places he far too recently had had to check for injury, had had to touch with clinical hands instead of these that loved him. Now he could love them, could love him.

"Is this ok?" he murmured just above Sokka's hip bones, hands at his waist and keeping himself aware of the position of the cast. "I'm not hurting you, am I?"

"Never," Sokka replied, a little breathless, pupils large, "but I also feel like I'm not, you know, doing very much to contribute right now…"

Zuko nipped at the inside of Sokka's thigh, making the other man yelp in surprise. 

"Maybe I don't want you to do a damn thing," he muttered, continuing to kiss over Sokka's skin, to tease and stroke with his hands. 

Sokka's breath hitched.

"Maybe I just want you to lay there while I do everything," Zuko continued, mouth hot on the indent where thigh met torso. "While I have you in every way I know you like and then discover a few more new ones."

"Jesus fuck," Sokka gasped. "Is this--is this sex demon Zuko or Ultra Protective Zuko? I'm just--it's--"

"Just Zuko," he murmured, lips still against skin. "Just wanting to take care of you some more--just as a boyfriend this time, not your doctor."

"Thought you weren't a doctor," Sokka joked, even as he shivered and reached for him, but Zuko knew how to stop that smart mouth in the most satisfying way possible. 

And soon Sokka definitely wasn't making any more jokes. Really, he wasn't saying any words at all, or at least none that made coherent sentences, which Zuko loved. God, when it just devolved into a lot of swear words and praise and groans and Zuko's name--that was perfect. How it should be. Just that, the breathless sounds of enjoyment and Sokka's hand massaging into Zuko's scalp and the taste of him on Zuko's tongue was all he needed in that moment. This man and this bed and the opportunity to keep on loving him.

And he did, in fact, discover one more new way of doing things that Sokka  _ really _ seemed to enjoy.

Afterwards, Zuko held Sokka against his chest, stroking through his hair and savoring the lazy satisfaction on his face. Sokka finally lifted his head to catch Zuko's jaw and bring their lips together again. His eyes were bright as he drew back, and that made Zuko's heart lurch again. He held Sokka even a little closer, pressed another kiss between his eyebrows.

"Welcome home, sweetheart," Sokka murmured, smiling, and then shifted to nuzzle their noses together. 

Zuko felt the rightness of that statement like something settling into place within his chest, a puzzle piece he hadn't even realized he'd been missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for following along with this story! I'm so glad you've enjoyed their continued relationship and some additions of Zuko POV. Since people seemed to like that, I will probably dip into his perspective occasionally in future installments, but Sokka's still gonna be the main POV we follow. :)
> 
> I've got a one-shot of a more fun night at a drag show written and then a longer chaptered piece that brings back a few characters (Sokka and Azula friendship anyone?) and throws them together, so I'll upload those as they get fully revised and polished. I've also got a smattering of other Zukka stories I'll probably intermix in here too, specifically more Zukka + Dragon and a canon-adjacent soulmate AU. So if any of those sound interesting to you, feel free to subscribe or watch for my updates on tumblr/discord. :)
> 
> Thanks again, and always feel free to comment and chat with me further at onmyliteraturebullshitagain on tumblr. If you've got specific moments of the Midwest or disaster bi experience you'd like to see our boys engage with, always feel free to let me know. I can't promise anything, but I'm always open to suggestions!


End file.
